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In this paper, we undertake a critical analysis of how chatbots built on generative artificial intelligence impact assumptions underlying definitions of trust. We engage a particular definition of trust and the object-oriented model of trust that was built upon it and identify how at least four implicit assumptions may no longer hold. Those assumptions include that people generally provide others with a default level of trust, the ability to identify whether the trusted agent is human or artificial, that risk and trust can be readily quantified or categorized, and that there is no expectation of gain by agents engaged in trust relationships. Based on that analysis, we suggest modifications to the definition and model to accommodate the features of generative AI chatbots. Our changes re-emphasize developers’ responsibility for the impacts of their AI artifacts, no matter how sophisticated the artifact may be. The changes also reflect that trust relationships are more fraught when participants in such relationships are not confident in identifying the nature of a potential trust partner.

The inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors are implicated in numerous physiological processes, including cognition and inhibition of neurotransmission, rendering them important molecular targets for many classes of drugs. Functionally, the entire GABAAR family of receptors can be subdivided into phasic, fast acting synaptic receptors, composed of α-, β- and γ-subunits, and tonic extrasynaptic receptors, many of which contain the δ-subunit in addition to α- and β-subunits. Whereas the subunit arrangement of the former group is agreed upon, that of the αβδ GABAARs remains unresolved by electrophysiological and pharmacological research. To resolve such issues will require biophysical techniques that demand quantities of receptor that have been previously unavailable. Therefore, we have engineered a stable cell line with tetracycline inducible expression of human α4-, β3- and N-terminally Flag-tagged δ-subunits. This cell line achieved a specific activity between 15 and 20 pmol [3H]muscimol sites/mg of membrane protein, making it possible to obtain 1 nmole of purified α4β3δ GABAAR from sixty 15-cm culture dishes. When induced, these cells exhibited agonist-induced currents with characteristics comparable to those previously reported for this receptor and a pharmacology that included strong modulation by etomidate and the δ-subunit-specific ligand, DS2. Immunoaffinity purification and reconstitution in CHAPS/asolectin micelles resulted in the retention of equilibrium allosteric interactions between the separate agonist, anesthetic and DS2 sites. Moreover, all three subunits retained glycosylation. The establishment of this well-characterized cell line will allow molecular level studies of tonic receptors to be undertaken.