un
UN Says Tether (USDT) Method of Choice for Money Launderers and Fraudsters Operating in South-East Asia
Top stablecoin USDT is the method of choice for money launderers and fraudsters in East and Southeast Asia, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The UNODC says in a new report that criminals in the region prefer to use the Tether-issued stablecoin on the Tron (TRON) blockchain due to its […]
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United Nations Proposes Digital ID System Tied to Bank Accounts and Mobile Payment Platforms
The United Nations is proposing a universal digital ID system that would directly connect to people’s bank accounts and payment apps. A comprehensive new policy agenda from UN Secretary General António Guterres details an identification network designed to digitize and streamline the process of verifying people’s identities on a global scale. The proposal is outlined […]
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UN report highlights ‘serious and urgent’ concerns about AI deepfakes
The UN wants to address AI-generated fake news and information as the organization looks to bring in voluntary guidelines for the technology.
The United Nations has called artificial intelligence-generated media a “serious and urgent” threat to information integrity, particularly on social media.
In a June 12 report, the UN claimed the risk of disinformation online has “intensified” due to “rapid advancements in technology, such as generative artificial intelligence” and singled out deepfakes in particular.
The UN said false information and hate speech generated by AI is “convincingly presented to users as fact.” Last month, the S&P 500 briefly dipped due to an AI-generated image and faked news report of an explosion near the Pentagon.
It called for AI stakeholders to address the spread of false information and asked them to take “urgent and immediate” action to ensure the responsible use of AI, and added:
“The era of Silicon Valley’s ‘move fast and break things’ philosophy must be brought to a close.”
The same day UN Secretary-General António Guterres held a press conference and said “alarm bells” over generative AI are “deafening” and “are loudest from the developers who designed it.”
Alarm over generative AI, as relevant as it is, must not obscure damage being done by digital tech enabling the spread of hate speech, mis- & disinformation now.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) June 12, 2023
Fueling conflict & destruction.
Threatening democracy & human rights.
Undermining public health & #ClimateAction. pic.twitter.com/XlisItDQIG
Guterres added the report “will inform a UN Code of Conduct for Information Integrity on Digital Platforms.” The code is being developed ahead of the Summit of the Future — a conference to be held in late September 2024 aiming to host inter-government discussions for a raft of issues.
“The Code of Conduct will be a set of principles that we hope governments, digital platforms and other stakeholders will implement voluntarily,” he said.
'Most substantial policy challenge ever’
Meanwhile, on June 13 the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, and Conservative Party politician William Hague released a report on AI.
The pair suggested the governments of the U.K., United States and “other allies” should “push for a new UN framework on urgent safeguards.”
Related: UK to get ‘early or priority access’ to AI models from Google and OpenAI
The arrival of AI “could present the most substantial policy challenge ever faced” due to its “unpredictable development” and “ever-increasing power,” the pair said.
Blair and Hague added that the government’s “existing approaches and channels are poorly configured” for such a technology.
Magazine: ‘Moral responsibility’ — Can blockchain really improve trust in AI?
52 Countries Facing Economic Disaster, Global Financial Infrastructure Outdated, Dysfunctional and Unfair: UN Secretary General
UN Secretary-General António Guterres says the global financial landscape is in need of major repair, with dozens upon dozens of countries in dire economic straits. In a speech at the G7 summit in Japan, Guterres said that although organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are following the law and operating by the book, global […]
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UN Report Urges Fed to Suspend Interest Rate Hikes, Presses for ‘Public Spending’ Increases
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes and the slew of other central banks raising rates, could pose harm to the global economy. UNCTAD calculated that for every Fed basis point rise, the economic output of wealthy countries declines by 0.5%, and for […]UN Agency Urges Authorities to Curb Cryptocurrency Expansion in Developing Countries
A United Nations trade body has recommended a set of policy actions to “curb the expansion of cryptocurrencies in developing countries.” The intergovernmental group stressed that if cryptocurrencies become a widespread means of payment, it could jeopardize the monetary sovereignty of countries. UN Trade Body’s Crypto Policy Recommendations The United Nations Conference on Trade and […]Report: Nigerian Crypto Restrictions and Twitter Ban Have ‘Crippled Foreign Direct Investment in the Fintech Industry’
A new report has concluded that restrictions on cryptocurrency trading, as well as the banning of Twitter by Nigerian authorities, may have “crippled foreign direct investment in the fintech industry.” Foreign Direct Investment ‘Crippled’ A new report has found that restrictions imposed by Nigerian authorities on crypto trading may have contributed to the reduced foreign […]UN approves NFT standards initiative led by Tencent
Chinese entertainment giant Tencent will be collaborating on the project with a number of others, including Alibaba subsidiary Ant Group.
Chinese entertainment conglomerate Tencent has been approved by the United Nations to lead a project exploring the creation of a standard technical and security framework for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) .
The project, dubbed a “technical framework for DLT-based digital collection services” will be the world’s first U.N.-approved standards initiative for NFTs, according to state-owned local media.
The U.N. agency for information and communication technologies, The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approved the project, which is expected to complete an initial draft by the end of 2022, according to a report from the South China Morning Post.
Currently, any recommendations advised by the ITU only become mandatory and enforceable when nations adopt them as law.
“The international standard aims to specify the technical architecture, technical flows, functional requirements, and security requirements for blockchain-based digital collectibles,” wrote Tencent in a statement released on Tuesday.
“It could help drive a consensus and common understanding around the world on the formation of a technical framework for digital collection services.”
Meanwhile, the Chinese government is in the process of developing its own state-backed Blockchain Services Network (BSN).
This will help the Chinese Government to support the deployment of NFT projects unrelated to cryptocurrency, which it banned once again in Sep 2021.
Tencent will collaborate with a number of other companies on the initiative, including Alibaba affiliate Ant Group, The Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and Zhejiang Lab.
Related: China aims to separate NFTs from crypto via new blockchain infrastructure
In China NFTs are often referred to as “digital collectibles” in order to avoid criticism from the anti-crypto media and government. For this reason, Chinese NFT-creators tend to avoid public or decentralized blockchains such as Ethereum or Solana, opting to create their collectibles on permissioned blockchains.
Despite the country’s apprehension for crypto, it’s clearly very keen on exploring potential use cases for blockchain technology.
At the end of last month, China announced the commencement of a national plan to expedite blockchain development and innovation across key areas including manufacturing, energy, government data sharing and services, law enforcement, taxation, criminal trials, inspection and cross-border finance.
Kenyan Farmers Pivot to Cryptocurrency as Popularity of Community Currencies Grows
The growth and popularity of community inclusion cryptocurrencies in Kenya continues to soar with the country’s rural farmers being the latest group to embrace the financial technology. As one report reveals, some farmers in Kenya’s countryside are now accepting cryptocurrency as payment while others are using the same to buy important supplies. Use of Sarafu […]