Connect with us

Published

on

Nowadays, everyone has an opinion on artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential risks. Even Pope Francis — the head of the Catholic Church — warned humanity of AI’s potential dangers and explained what needs to be done to control it. The Pope wants to see an international treaty to regulate AI to ensure it is developed and used ethically. Otherwise, he says, we risk falling into the spiral of a “technological dictatorship.” The threat of AI arises when developers have a “desire for profit or thirst for power” that dominates the wish to exist freely and peacefully, he added. 

The same feeling was expressed by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which is comprised of top financial regulators and chaired by United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. In its annual report, the organization emphasized that AI carries specific risks, such as cybersecurity and model risks. It suggested that companies and regulators enhance their knowledge and capabilities to monitor AI innovation and usage and identify emerging risks. According to the report, specific AI tools are highly technical and complex, posing challenges for institutions to explain or monitor them effectively. The report warns that companies and regulators may overlook biased or inaccurate results without a comprehensive understanding.

Even judges in the United Kingdom are ruminating on the risks of using AI in their work. Four senior judges in the U.K. have issued judicial guidance for AI, which deals with AI’s “responsible use” in courts and tribunals. The guidance points out potentially useful instances of AI usage, primarily in administrative aspects such as summarizing texts, writing presentations and composing emails. However, most of the guidance cautions judges to avoid consuming false information produced through AI searches and summaries and to be vigilant about anything false being produced by AI in their name. Particularly not recommended is the use of AI for legal research and analysis.

Tether onboards FBI to demonstrate its compliance

Tether, the company behind the stablecoin Tether (USDT), disclosed letters directed to U.S. lawmakers addressing requests for intervention by the Department of Justice (DOJ) about the illicit use of its stablecoin. The letters aim to answer calls from Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative French Hill from October, urging the DOJ “to carefully evaluate the extent to which Binance and Tether are providing material support and resources to support terrorism.”

Tether stated that it has a Know Your Customer program, a transaction monitoring system and a “proactive approach” to identifying suspicious accounts and activities. In addition, Tether said that clients’ reviews do not end with their registration and claimed it uses surveillance monitoring tools to track client activity continuously. The company also disclosed that it onboarded the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to its platform as part of collaboration efforts with law enforcement.

Continue reading

KuCoin will ban New York residents

Crypto exchange KuCoin has agreed to pay $22 million to the State of New York and to bar state residents from using its platform, according to a stipulation and consent order filed in the New York Supreme Court. In addition, KuCoin “admits that it represented itself as an ‘exchange’ and was not registered as an exchange pursuant to the laws of New York State.” The company has agreed to close the accounts of all New York resident users within 120 days and to prevent New York residents from obtaining accounts in the future. In addition, it will restrict access to withdrawals to only within 30 days, leaving the remaining 90 days available for users to withdraw funds. 

Continue reading

Four crypto crimes listed among the IRS top cases in 2023

The criminal investigation unit of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has listed four crypto-related cases among the top 10 of its “most prominent and high-profile investigations” in 2023. Four significant cases in 2023 involved the seizure of cryptocurrency, fraudulent practices, money laundering and other schemes. Coming in at its third most high-profile investigation in the past year was OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in September for his role in marketing and selling a fraudulent crypto asset.

Continue reading

Continue Reading

Politics

Revolut secures MiCA license in Cyprus to launch Europe-wide crypto services

Published

on

By

Revolut secures MiCA license in Cyprus to launch Europe-wide crypto services

Revolut secures MiCA license in Cyprus to launch Europe-wide crypto services

Revolut also revealed its Crypto 2.0 platform, which will feature over 280 tokens, zero-fee staking up to 22% APY and 1:1 stablecoin-to-US dollar conversion.

Continue Reading

Politics

EU sanctions Russian A7A5 stablecoin and crypto exchanges

Published

on

By

EU sanctions Russian A7A5 stablecoin and crypto exchanges

EU sanctions Russian A7A5 stablecoin and crypto exchanges

Russian oil companies have increasingly relied on digital assets and crypto platforms to circumvent financial sanctions, according to the European Commission.

Continue Reading

Politics

Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage are polar opposites in politics, but have one thing in common

Published

on

By

Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage are polar opposites in politics, but have one thing in common

Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage might be polar opposites when it comes to politics – but they do have one thing in common.

The pair are both cutting through in a changing media landscape when attention is scarce and trust in mainstream politics is scarcer still.

For Farage, the Reform UK leader, momentum has been building since he won a seat at the general election last year and he continues to top the polls.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Badenoch doesn’t want to talk about Farage

But in the six weeks since Polanski became leader of the Greens, membership has doubled, they’ve polled higher than ever before while three Labour councillors have defected. Has the insurgent firebrand finally met his match?

“I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but I despise Nigel Farage’s politics and disagree with him on almost everything,” Polanski tells Sky News.

“But I think his storytelling has undoubtedly cut through and so yes there has been a huge part of us saying ‘If Farage can do that with a politics of hate and division, then it’s time for the Green Party to do that with a politics of hope and community’ and that’s absolutely what I intend to keep doing.”

Polanski was speaking after a news conference to announce the defections of the councillors in Swindon – a bellwether area that is currently led by a Labour council and has two Labour MPs, but was previously controlled by the Tories.

More from Politics

It is the sort of story the party would previously have announced in a press release, but the self-described “eco populist” is determined to do things differently to grab attention.

He has done media interviews daily over the past few weeks, launched his own podcast and turbocharged the Greens social media content – producing slick viral videos such as his visit to Handsworth (the Birmingham neighbourhood where Robert Jenrick claimed he saw no white people).

Zack Polanski announces the defection of Labour councillors
Image:
Zack Polanski announces the defection of Labour councillors

Polanski insists that it is not increased exposure in and of itself that is attracting people to his party but his messaging – he wants to “make hope normal again”.

“I’m not going to be in a wetsuit or be parachuting from a helicopter”, he says in a swipe at Lib Dem leader Ed Davey.

“I think you only need to do stunts if you don’t have something really clear to say and then you need to grab attention.

“I think when you look at the challenges facing this country right now if you talk about taxing wealth and not work, if you talk about the mass inequality in our society and you talk about your solidarity with people living in poverty, with working-class communities, I think these are the things that people both want to hear, but also they want to know our solutions. The good news is I’ve got loads of solutions and the party has loads of solutions. “

Some of those solutions have come under criticism – Reform UK have attacked his policy to legalise drugs and abolish private landlords.

Discontent is fuelling the rise of challenger parties. Pic: PA
Image:
Discontent is fuelling the rise of challenger parties. Pic: PA

Polanski is confident he can win the fight. He says it helps that he talks “quite quickly because it means that I’m able to be bold but also have nuance”. And he is a London Assembly member not an MP, so he has time to be the party’s cheerleader rather than being bogged down with case work.

As for what’s next, the 42-year-old has alluded to conversations with Labour MPs about defections. He has not revealed who they are but today gave an idea of who he would welcome – naming Starmer critic Richard Burgon.

Like Burgon, Polanski believes Starmer “will be gone by May” and that the local elections for Labour “will be disastrous”.

He wants to replace Labour “right across England and Wales” when voters go to the polls, something Reform UK has also vowed to do.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Is Zack Polanski squeezing the Labour vote?

Could the Greens be kingmakers?

Luke Tryl, director of More in Common, says this reflects a “new axis of competition” as frontline British politics shifts from a battle of left vs right to a battle of process vs anti-establishment.

Farage has been the beneficiary of this battle so far but Tryl says Polanski is “coming up in focus groups” in a way his predecessors didn’t. “He is cutting through”, the pollster says.

However, one big challenge Polanski faces is whether his rise will cause the left vote to fragment and make it easier for Farage to win – something he has said he wants to avoid at all costs.

And yet, asked if he would form a coalition with Labour to keep Farage out of power in the event of a hung parliament, he suggested he would only do so if Sir Keir Starmer is no longer prime minister.

“I have issues with Keir Starmer as prime minister,” he says. “I think he had the trust of the public, but I would say that’s been broken over and over again. If we had a different Labour prime minister that would be a different conversation about where their values are.

He adds: “I do think stopping Nigel Farage has to be a huge mission for any progressive in this country, but the biggest way we can stop Nigel Farage is by people joining the Green Party right now; creating a real alternative to this Labour government, where we say we don’t have to compromise on our values.

“If people wanted to vote for Nigel Farage, they’d vote for Nigel Farage. What does Keir Starmer think he’s doing by offering politics that are similar but watered down? That’s not going to appeal to anyone, and I think that’s why they’re sinking in the polls.”

Continue Reading

Trending