I don't think it's coming to an end. It's getting more difficult, yes, but not impossible. Currently I'm working on a game, and since I'm not an artist, I pay artists to create the art. The person I'm working closest with I have basically no idea who they are, except their name, email and the country they live in. Otherwise it's basically "they send me a draft > I review/provide feedback > Iterate until done > I send them money", and both of us know basically nothing of the other.
I agree that trust in the individual is becoming more important, but it's always been one of the most important thing for collaborations or anything that involves other human beings. We've tried to move that trust to other system, but seems instead we're only able to move the trust to the people building and maintaining those systems, instead of getting rid of it completely.
Maybe, "trust" is just here to stay, and we all be better off as soon as we start to realize this, and reconnect with the people around us and connect with the people on the other side of the world.
Movie/show reviews, product reviews, app/browser extension reviews, programming libraries, etc all get gamed. An entire industry of booting reviews has sprung up from PR companies brigading positive reviews for their clients.
The better AI gets at slop and controlling bots to create slop which is indistinguishable from human content, the less people will trust content on those platforms.
Your trust relationship with your artist almost certainly was based on something other than just contact info. Usually you review a portfolio, a professional profile, and you start with a small project to limit your downside risk. This tentative relationship and phased stages where trust is increased is how human trust relationships have always worked.