Snippings

xxx

To the extent that cryptocurrencies have been used for legitimate transactions — as opposed to, say, ransom payments — the currencies in question have often been “stablecoins,” whose issuers promise to redeem the coins on demand for ordinary dollars. The problem is that a stablecoin issuer is basically just a reinvented version of an ordinary bank, without the regulations and guarantees that make conventional banks mostly safe.

From Opinion | Why Is DeSantis Against Central Bank Digital Currencies? – The New York Times:

xxx

xxx

According to a blog post, WebGPU can let developers achieve the same level of graphics they can now with far less code and provides “more than three times improvements in machine learning model inferences.” That last one is a real kicker — improved machine learning performance was interesting in 2021, when the feature was added to Chrome on an experimental basis, but now that we’re in the age of generative AIs and large language models, it could be even more of a boon.

From Google is rolling out WebGPU tech for next-gen gaming in your browser – The Verge.

xxx

The European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG) have published their views on the Digital Euro.

Therefore, although supportive of the Digital Euro, we are of the opinion that many legitimate and reasonable questions still need to be answered and a successful implementation needs to properly address the above concerns. In order to achieve this, we argue for significantly lower maximum caps on holdings. For the distributors of the Digital Euro, a long-term sustainable business model will be required. And if the Digital Euro will be positioned as a retail payments product, it should not use its privileged position as a public-money funded product by mandatory acceptance requirements that distort the competitive retail payments market.

From A Digital Euro: what does it mean for savings and retail banks? – WSBI ESBG.

xxx

xxx

What ChatGPT said was correct in every way, except for the facts

From (3) What ChatGPT said was correct in every way, except for the facts | LinkedIn.

xxx

Sam Altman sees GPT-4 going rogue in the hands of humans who use its power for evil.

‘I’m particularly worried that these models could be used for large-scale disinformation,’ Altman told ABC NEWS.

‘Now that they’re getting better at writing computer code, [they] could be used for offensive cyberattacks.’

From ChatGPT CEO admits he is ‘scared’ the bot could be used for ‘large-scale disinformation’ | Daily Mail Online.

xxx

xxx

So what did this new study find? The chance of an incorrect match is now 1 in 6,000 — sizeably lower than the 1 in 1,000 seen in the first trials. It’s a significant improvement that means the Met is less likely to accidentally flag innocent people while using LFR.

From (1) More facial recognition is coming to London – London Spy.

xxx

xxx

The UK financial and advertising regulators have warned social media influencers of the risks of promoting “get-rich-quick schemes” such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens to their followers.

From UK regulators warn influencers of risks of promoting NFTs and cryptocurrencies | Social media | The Guardian.

xxx

The International Monetary Fund talk about digital public infrastructure (DPI) built up from digital identity, the payments system and a data exchange layer. Such a DPI has the potential to support the transformation of the economy and support inclusive growth. They highlight the particular example of India’s foundational DPI, the so-called “India Stack”, and show how it has been harnessed to foster innovation and competition, boost financial inclusion and improve government revenue collection. India’s DPI contains powerful lessons for other countries embarking on digital transformation, in particular a design approach that focuses on shared building blocks and supporting innovation across the ecosystem through APIs.

So where are we in the UK now? We don’t have digital identity, we do have a payments system (albeit based on last-generation technology) and we don’t have a data exchange layer. What would it take for us to reach Indian levels of innovation?

xxx

As it pertains to a consumer’s income level, debit cards and cash represent more than half of the total amount spent by low-income consumers for all retail purchases, while middle- and high-income consumers are heavy credit card users, paying more than one-third of their retail expenses with this payment method.

From 38% of Consumers Used Debit for Their Last in-Store Purchase | PYMNTS.com:

xxx

xxx

An interagency task force whose job would be to support “reliable, interoperable digital identity verification in the public and private sectors” could be established by the US federal government after a Senate committee vote.

The legislation behind the task force, known as the Improving Digital Identity Act, was passed by the US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week in a vote of 11-1. It now moves on to the full Senate for debate.

The legislation notes that there is no easy, affordable method for government agencies and businesses to verify whether an individual is who they purport to be online, allowing cyber criminals to more easily access personal data.

“The inadequacy of current digital identity solutions degrades security and privacy for all people in the United States, and next generation solutions are needed that improve security, privacy, equity, and accessibility,” the bill reads.

It says the government is “uniquely positioned to deliver critical components that address deficiencies in the digital identity infrastructure of the United States and augment private sector digital identity and authentication solutions”.

From US digital identity bill passes through to Senate:

xxx

 

xxx

The bill was introduced in response to a call from the bipartisan Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity for federal agencies to act as “an authoritative source to validate identity attributes” across the digital ID market. If it is passed, an Improving Digital Identity Task Force would be established to help ensure citizens’ privacy and security.

From US digital identity bill passes through to Senate:

xxx