>Our epistemological process is primarily scientific reasoning
"Our" is a pretty loaded term there. Empiricism is "primary" in only a few limited bubbles of society. Religion, common knowledge, consensus, rationalism, etc are other epistemological processes familiar to many.
But if we have better ways we should load that into the process.
Perhaps we need a Web of Trust model for data, for instance. That's a thing oral traditions naturally build in.