Trust-M newsletter No. 2

The subproject and work package (WP2) carried out at the University of Vaasa within the Trust-M project are building new conceptual frameworks for AI in the public sector. The starting point is the idea that trust is not a simple yes-or-no state, but something that is built through everyday experiences, interaction, and different actors’ perceptions of what is fair and safe. We study how migrants experience trust in relation to AI-assisted public services: when a service feels trustworthy, when it raises doubts, and how the service’s values are reflected in everyday practices. As research methods, we use ethnographic fieldwork as well as participatory and speculative design methods — in practice, this means that both service providers and service users are involved in the research.

Theoretical and empirical work has been carried out by postdoctoral researchers Anne Häkkinen, an ethnologist, and Avanti Chajed, an education scholar. Results have been published, for example, in the form of a theoretical framework (Chajed et al. 2025), in which trust was broken down into more approachable components such as care.

Recently, we have focused in particular on how care manifests in current services such as Hello Espoo, and on its potential to serve as a new perspective for service development. The key question is: what would happen if public services were designed on the principle of care, in addition to, or instead of, the principle of efficiency? This was examined, for example, by Milja Parviainen in her master’s thesis, completed in spring 2026. In our ongoing studies, we examine, among other things, migrant mothers’ experiences of Finnish public services and ask when a service makes a person feel welcome and increases their sense of belonging — and when it does not. This research direction, currently advanced in particular by postdoctoral researcher Nils Ehrenberg, connects the project’s theoretical foundation with current international discussions on the ethics of care, relational design, and justice in digital services.

Chajed, Avanti; Ylipulli, Johanna; Häkkinen, Anne; Tupasela, Aaro; Varanasi, Uttishta; Šerpytytė, Rūta, and Olsson, Thomas (2025): Trust as Affects: Conceptualizing trust for digital public services to foster social inclusion for migrants. In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Communities & Technologies (C&T ‘25), July 21-23, Siegen, Germany. EUSSET. doi: 10.48340/ct2025-1031

Since the last newsletter many new publications have been added to our website. The papers explore how digital and AI-assisted public services can become more trustworthy, inclusive, and equitable for migrants, focusing on access to information, experiences of cultural inclusion, perceptions of AI tools, privacy concerns, and the ethical and practical challenges of participatory cross-cultural research. Check the full papers through these links:

Epistemic uncertainty and ethical dilemmas in cross-cultural research
Here you can also find the author’s blog post discussing the paper.

Migrants’ trust, equity, and inclusion in digital public services: A focus on information access and use

Migrants’ perceptions of AI-driven chatbots in public services: Potentials and concerns for inclusion

Experiences of Finnish Public Services: Barriers to Cultural Inclusion for Iranian Migrant Women

Privacy Preservation in Audio and Video

Privacy Disclosure of Similarity Rank in Speech and Language Processing

Scaling Care-fully: Uncovering Labours of Care When Scaling Participatory Design in the Public Sector

Frictions and constraints of institutioning: Facilitating equitable participatory design with migrants in municipalities

Frame excavation: Revealing and critiquing existing problem frames to improve migrants’ awareness of public services

We organized a discussion event at the end of February, where we presented the research findings to date. Aalto’s communications team wrote an interesting article about the day, which you can read here:
How trust in digital public services is being built together with migrants in Espoo | Aalto University

The Strategic Research Council’s project OBaMa has published a new policy recommendation, which is worth reading here (only in Finnish):
02/2026: VAHVA DEMOKRATIA VAATII OSALLISTUMISEN ESTEIDEN RAIVAAMISTA – OBaMa – Osallistumisen esteiden yli 

As a project, we took a position on the Finnish government’s plans to expand the use of AI in public advisory services. You can read our research-based comments here (the full comments are also available in Finnish at the end of the blog post):
Our Comments on Finland’s Plans to Expand the Use of AI in Public Advisory Services

DigiUp-digital toolbox launch event
On March 12, Nils Ehrenberg, Uttishta Varanasi, and Rūta Šerpytytė joined Moniheli for the launch of DigiUp digital toolbox. The toolbox was developed to support migrant women in improving digital skills essential in working life. The toolbox is the result of a collaboration between Nordic and Baltic countries and has been funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

During the launch, Rūta Šerpytytė and Uttishta Varanasi presented research from the Trust-M project on how we need new approaches to public digital services that center care and self-development built on community and peer-support, not simply technical skills. Nils Ehrenberg also joined an expert panel to discuss the challenges of public service digitalisation and the digital skills needed in the current job market.

Read more about the new toolbox here:
Digitaidot tukemassa maahan muuttaneiden naisten kotoutumista Pohjoismaissa ja Baltiassa – Moniheli

Call for participation! Understanding Intermediaries’ Role in Public Service Design
Join us for a full-day workshop at the NordiCHI 2026 conference in Vaasa, Finland. We will explore the role of intermediaries — actors that support residents in navigating and accessing digital public services. Drawing on research-based cases from Finland and Portugal, we will discuss how intermediaries support digital inclusion for underserved communities, including migrants and elderly populations, and what it means to design digital services with and for them. We encourage researchers, designers, public sector workers, and NGO representatives to participate and contribute their expertise and experiences in designing equitable digital public services.

Read more about the workshop and sign-up here:
Call for participation! Understanding Intermediaries’ Role in Public Service Design

Welcome to join a study circle in the fall!
– Do you work with migrant residents or other underserved resident groups?
– Do you work with digital services and feel uneasy about the role of public sector digitalisation?
– Do you strive to apply more co-creative approaches in your work?
– Do you want to learn about how to make public services more care-centric?
– Do you feel like you’re lacking support to address all of this?

This study circle is meant for public sector practitioners to learn about things like care, participation, and belonging in a group setting. By joining, the participants will get 1) tools for your structured and consistent reflection (such as journaling), and 2) a peer-support group. At the same time, they will be participating in a research study, looking into how practitioners exercise care, when designing and implementing public services.

Participation includes several months of continuous engagement (excluding winter holidays): 20-30 minutes per week for individual tasks, and four or eight 45-60 minute group sessions. We start in fall 2026, and wrap up in spring 2027. You can drop out at any point if it becomes too much!

Sign up if interested by July 31st: Study circle ”Care and Public Services”

Contact:
Rūta Šerpytytė
ruta.serpytyte@tuni.fi