Twenty years ago I realized that smart phones are proto-tricorders, they just need improved sensors. The spark for this was the stupid little labels that get put on every fruit and vegetable, which seem a waste of labor, and are loathed by every gardener I know. If consumers can test for pesticides directly, or analyze DNA to determine species and variety, the labels would no longer be needed. The olive oil scandal would no longer be possible. As it stands, government regulation of quality still seems very necessary.

Today, I read about an inexpensive, biodegradable sensor for pesticides. When sensor technology like this matures, I think it will bring a fundamental change to our society, replacing government regulation of food production with direct economic forces. Customers that detect pesticides, disease, unwanted ingredients, or falsely labelled items will simply walk away. Well, they might choose to ignore the warnings, but I suspect that will be mitigated by health tracking apps giving immediate negative feedback based on predicted negative long-term effects. Health apps are already available in abundance, though they have a long way to go to be truly effective, I think.

The durability of a corporate brand will change as well. A good brand is credit for past good work. As consumers are increasingly able to directly evaluate the quality of current work, past results will matter less. Amazon has demonstrated that brands are not so important for products that are relatively simple and for which a warranty is more trouble than it is worth. They simply make up company names and sell gobs of goods that are so cheap, people are willing to take the risk.

I looked up the phrase “Trust, but verify.” I knew that Ronald Reagan had used it. I didn’t know it was a Russian proverb, nor that he’d learned it from Suzanne Massie, a Russian history scholar. If some Russian folklore offers you some hard-edged wisdom, it’s best to pay attention.

We’ve been doing a lot of trusting in our economy, but a lot of verification has been in government hands, because that’s been the only way to enforce testing. I look forward to more situations where consumers can verify directly and walk away if need be.