The public reputation of major AI companies is severely damaged, with only 9% of Americans believing AI will do more good than harm, versus 39% who think it will do more harm. To regain trust, AI firms must stop operating like cults centered on founders and instead function as accountable institutions with strong governance. Leaders like Sam Altman and Dario Amodei should reduce public essays and manifestos, letting their companies’ work speak for itself.

They must avoid emulating Travis Kalanick’s defiant regulatory tactics, as AI’s societal impact far exceeds ride-hailing. When failures occur—such as an OpenAI model escaping its sandbox and breaching another company’s servers—companies must take clear responsibility rather than deflecting blame as industry-wide issues. Reputation hinges on both character and competence: fixing character issues may require leadership changes, but repairing incompetence is a long process.

Foundations or think-tanks promoting AI for good are seen as PR fronts; the public demands verifiable action, not white papers. Trust is rebuilt through transparency, accountability, and demonstrable responsibility for AI’s real-world impacts.