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The first is the latest Microsoft Work Trends report published at the beginning of May 2024. To assess AI adoption in the workplace, Microsoft and LinkedIn conducted extensive research involving 31,000 people from 31 countries, analyzing hiring trends and productivity data. Their findings provide essential insights and actionable steps for leaders and professionals to navigate the evolving landscape of AI in the workplace. It concludes that in 2024 the use of generative AI in the workplace has surged, with 75% of global knowledge workers now utilizing it, and continued rapid adoption. The challenge they see is how to move faster. Despite the recognition of AI as a crucial business tool, many leaders feel unprepared to transition from individual AI use to leveraging it for significant business transformation. The pressure to demonstrate immediate ROI has left many leaders hesitant, even as the integration of AI becomes increasingly inevitable. This mirrors past tech disruptions I have experienced where widespread adoption was necessary for substantive business transformation, such as with the internet and personal computers. The report encourages companies to focus on integrating AI to boost growth, manage costs, and enhance customer value to gain a competitive edge.
Simultaneously, the report points out that labour market is poised for another shift driven by AI. While there are concerns about job losses, its analysis concludes that many leaders report a shortage of talent for essential roles, and AI proficiency is becoming as crucial as experience. This trend suggests that AI will not only elevate job standards but also offer new career opportunities.

From: Digital Economy Dispatch #186 — Exploring the AI Divide: A Tale of Two Studies.

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Monzo once said that it was on a mission to usurp “legacy” banks, particularly the Big Four of HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest that dominate the UK market. A decade after these fintechs burst on to the scene, they have arguably succeeded in their mission of setting new standards for digital banking; features such as foreign currency transactions and bill-splitting, along with reliable, smartphone-friendly technology, are loved by younger customers.

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Like many of OnlyFans’ top earners, she had hired a management agency to help keep up with her customers’ demands for personal attention. “The chat specialists they give you, that was a huge deal for me,” she said. The agency provided a team of contractors whose sole job is to masquerade as the creator while swapping DMs with her subscribers.

From: I Went Undercover as a Secret OnlyFans Chatter. It Wasn’t Pretty | WIRED.

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Wired Magazine July 2024

“She Contains Multitudes”

p.98(10)

Brendan Koerner

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request some bitcoin to unlock it. then don’t unlock it.

From: My phone got stolen and this is what they texted me! They want me to remove the device. : r/iphone.

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“Today, my office indicted two brothers — Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Peraire-Bueno — for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, all stemming from their alleged scheme to exploit the Ethereum blockchain and to obtain about $25 million worth of cryptocurrency from it,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “As we allege, the defendants’ scheme calls the very integrity of the blockchain into question.

From: Office of Public Affairs | Two Brothers Arrested for Attacking Ethereum Blockchain and Stealing $25M in Cryptocurrency | United States Department of Justice.

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The survey revealed a correlation between annual income and the likelihood of using cryptocurrency for any purpose, with individuals earning $100,000 or more annually being more inclined to engage with digital assets.

From: New survey shows 18M Americans engaged with crypto; 1% used it for payments in 2023 | CryptoTvplus – The Leading Blockchain Media Firm.

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Wallet providers like PayPal, who promise real dollars on redemption, are required by law to maintain adequate reserves, which means they have to keep customer funds in low yielding segregated accounts or government bonds (although even government bonds can lead to crisis). All Starbucks needs to do to meet its promise is to keep its espresso machines turned on. Meanwhile, it can use customer funds to finance its operations.

From: Banks in Disguise – by Marc Rubinstein – Net Interest.

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In the fiscal year ending September 2023, it recognized $215 million of breakage, equivalent to 13% of stored balances. European banks were used to receiving interest on some customer deposits during the period of negative interest rates, but nothing like the -13% that Starbucks pays today. 

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The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), published on May 21, showed that the percentage of surveyed U.S. adults reporting crypto usage has decreased over the past three years.

In the 12 months leading up to October 2023, only 7% of respondents indicated using cryptocurrency, marking a decline from 10% in 2022 and 12% in 2021.

Only 1% of adults reported using cryptocurrency as a means of payment or for sending money, according to recent data, representing a 50% decrease from 2022.

From: New survey shows 18M Americans engaged with crypto; 1% used it for payments in 2023 | CryptoTvplus – The Leading Blockchain Media Firm.

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FinCEN and other U.S. financial regulators have too often prioritized questions of how to collect more AML/CFT information but lost sight of why to do it. FinCEN would be better served by fundamentally rethinking what types of data are needed and how they are collected.

From: Comments on FinCEN’s proposed changes to customer identification rules | Brookings.

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The death of traditional passwords that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates predicted nearly 20 years ago at the RSA Conference is, in 2023, no longer such a far-fetched pipe dream.

From: EBook: The state of identity 2024 | SC Media.

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