AI Agents as Trust Managers

In low‑trust manufacturing ecosystems, AI agents can function as reliable, impartial supervisors that reduce principal–agent frictions by automating oversight, enforcing standards, and providing auditable quality signals on the shop floor. Deploying such agents in family‑run Indian ancillary plants could raise productivity and safety without heavy capital automation, but will also shift managerial power, labor practices, and regulatory responsibilities. — If realized at scale, AI as 'trust manager' would reshape employment, industrial policy, and governance in developing economies by replacing social trust networks with machine‑mediated accountability.