Snippings

xxx

It is with this in mind that Paul Kedrosky, an economist and MIT fellow, refers to ChatGPT as “a virus that has been released into the wild”. He believes that most organizations are completely unprepared for the impact of ChatGPT. He sees its broad release without restrictions as reckless and has opened a pandoras box that should not have been opened. With the release of ChatGPT we are now beginning to realize just how much that is still to be debated about the future of our digital world.

From Digital Economy Dispatch #127 — To Pause or To Push On: The AI Dilemma that will Shape Our Digital Future.

xxx

xxx

Overall, 17% of U.S. adults say they have ever invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency. This share is mostly unchanged from previous Center surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022.

As was true in past surveys, younger men are more likely to use cryptocurrency compared with men 50 and older and women of any age. For example, 41% of men ages 18 to 29 say they have ever invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency, compared with 16% of women in the same age range.

Cryptocurrency use also differs by race, ethnicity and income level. Some 24% of Asian adults and 21% of Black or Hispanic adults say they have ever invested in or used a cryptocurrency, compared with 14% of White adults.

From 75% of those who’ve heard of crypto aren’t confident in its safety, reliability| Pew Research Center.

xxx

xxx

Composable platforms allow for the combination of pre-built business solutions that create custom applications through automated programming interfaces (APIs). This approach is centered on the idea of modularity. In this approach each component is designed to perform a highly specific function, while still being easily integrated with other components within a larger, legacy core system. The goal of composable technology is to enable faster development, better collaboration and increased flexibility.

“Composable banking is the future of banking. It enables financial institutions to offer customers a highly personalized and tailored experience, while also being able to iterate and improve at speed. With the right technology, banks can easily plug and play services, creating a truly customer-centric ecosystem.”
— Anne Boden, founder and CEO of Starling Bank

From What is ‘Composable Banking’? Should Your Digital Plan Include It?.

xxx

Sameed Basha, writing in the South China Morning Post, writes than an multi-polar financial order (ie, one not based on the dollar) would bring “checks and balances absent from the US-led economic order”, which opponents see as as unilateral and dictatorial in practice, a tool to target those who disagree with America’s world view. He suggests that the world could fracture into three blocs: “BRICS Plus”, non-aligned states, and the G7 plus Australia. There would undoubtedly be increased friction

 

would increase as they struggle to agree on a unified, impartial and objective monetary system, which may incorporate digital currency elements. Such a fragmentation would erode America’s exceptionalism, but it would only be the beginning. 

xxx

US GDP is now 24% of the global total, while the dollar forms about 60% of global monetary reserves, down from about 70% a decade ago. The switch has been from dollars to the currencies of smaller nations (Canada, Australia, S Korea and so on) rather than to the yuan or the euro. The trend in dollar usage has been lower, but that doesn’t mean the dollar is dead.

From The dollar in a world gone MAD (Mercantilism, Autarky, Dirigisme).

xxx

xxx

It is this weaponisation of the dollar rather than a particular concern about current American inflation or fiscal policy which likely explains historically high gold purchases in the past year by global central banks, particularly those in the developing world.

From The dollar in a world gone MAD (Mercantilism, Autarky, Dirigisme).

xxx

xxx

With proper guardrails in place, Web3 can improve the lives of millions of people by transforming financial services and beyond – but only smart regulations and serious industry efforts can (re)build the trust needed to make it happen.

Rana Kortam is Director, Global Public Policy at Binance.

From Smart regulation needed to rebuild trust in crypto – OMFIF:

xxx

xxx

Balaji Srinivasan, for instance, suggests that FedNow could “facilitate Cyprus-style deposit seizure at the speed of light”:

From Moneyness: FedNow is not a tool for freezing money.

xxx

xxx

Mr. Reid’s wrongful arrest appears to be the result of a cascade of technologies — beginning with a bad facial recognition match — that are intended to make policing more effective and efficient but can also make it far too easy to apprehend the wrong person for a crime. None of the technologies are mentioned in official documents, and Mr. Reid was not told exactly why he had been arrested, a typical but troubling practice, according to legal experts and public defenders.

From ‘Thousands of Dollars for Something I Didn’t Do’ – The New York Times.

xxx

 

xxx

The Sheriff’s Office has a contract with one facial recognition vendor: Clearview AI, which it pays $25,000 a year. According to documents obtained by The Times in a public records request, the department first signed a contract with Clearview in 2019.

The company’s chief executive, Hoan Ton-That, said an arrest should not be based on a facial recognition search alone.

From ‘Thousands of Dollars for Something I Didn’t Do’ – The New York Times.

xxx

xxx

More than 12mn people in the UK have some form of criminal record. Most of these are for minor infractions, often decades old, and yet they still prevent individuals from gaining stable employment — even when the offence has nothing to do with the job at hand. But 27 per cent of employers say they would not hire someone with a criminal record. These workers have skills and experience to offer and we should not be holding them back — especially when the economy is sluggish.

From The UK’s criminal records system is failing us all | Financial Times.

xxx