I trust gorhill to make the right decisions when it comes to uBlock Origin and the filter lists it uses, based on his previous track record, his stance on Adblock's "acceptable ads" and his refusal to take donations from anyone.
I don't necessarily trust the individual list maintainers[1], but I do trust that gorhill will quickly purge any filter lists that try to put in shady changes.
[1] I do trust the maintainer of the DNK list. He's a former colleague of mine, and I know how strictly principled he is in regards to ads and tracking.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Why-don't-you-accept-...
He'll work on it for as long as he feels like it. I've made sure to thank him for his work and signal that I appreciate what he does very much indeed. All in the hope that he will continue the good work.
Will the project die at some point? Maybe. Or maybe someone will take over. Maybe another better adblocker will come along. The need is there, as long as ads/trackers exist.
As an aside (but still relating to your comment) I tend to trust my adblocker based on the "many eyeballs" theory and I think the OP and ensuing discussion here is proof that the system mostly works.