Gemini’s Travel Rule measures reflect ‘worrying creep’ of overregulation

November 9, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Gemini will be restricting its UK users to sending only to 58 virtual asset service providers that are registered under the Travel Rule starting Nov. 17. A Trezor analyst argues the measures will go against the principles of Bitcoin and financial freedom.

Crypto exchange Gemini newly announced measures to comply with the controversial crypto Travel Rule in the United Kingdom reflects a “worrying creep” toward overregulation and will strip customers of their freedom for self-custody, according to a Trezor analyst.

On Nov. 7, cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced it has made changes in order to comply with the new Travel Rule restrictions for customers in the U.K.

Gemini said it will restrict outward cryptocurrency transfers to a list of 58 virtual asset service providers (VASPs) registered under the Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST) starting on Nov. 17.

Gemini’s statement on the new Travel Rule restriction. Source: Gemini

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Trezor Bitcoin analyst Josef Teteka said the move will only serve to limit the options for those looking to self custody their crypto.

“The forthcoming restrictions from Gemini UK will make it much harder for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency users to move their assets into self custody,” said Tetek, noting that the requirements include providing one’s name, name of beneficiary and in some cases, their address.

“This goes against the fundamental principles of Bitcoin, where the user rightly enjoys freedom, privacy where required, and ultimately self-sovereignty.”

This is dog
Email just received from @Gemini
“Travel Rule: Changes to crypto transfer requirements for UK customers”

global hub for cryptoassets my a**, Rishi!

(I barely use Gemini Anyways but still ‍♂️) pic.twitter.com/tuqhSLyZgg
— Robin Nakamoto (@RobinNakamoto) November 3, 2023

Gemini said its UK restrictions will also apply to incoming transfers from non-TRUST VASPs starting in December, with Gemini stating it may freeze or limit accounts attempting to make inbound transfers.

Tetek said the case at hand represents a “worrying creep towards over-regulation” which could result in the “control of its everyday citizens and the choices they make” around how they save, spend and transfer their assets. He added:

“As we’ve seen again and again, crypto exchanges can and do assume control and ownership of their user’s digital assets, a situation that can end in disaster. Why should they now also be the arbiters of transactional freedom?”

Several X (formerly Twitter) also expressed negative sentiment on the recent Gemini announcement.

Many people have the misconception that the only way to acquire Bitcoin is by buying it on exchanges. This belief is far from the truth. There are countless alternative ways to obtain Bitcoin, such as mining, earning it through services or products, and even P2P transactions.

/2
— rare ☠️ passenger.gfm (@rarepassenger) November 7, 2023

The Travel Rule was created by the United Nations agency Financial Action Task Force in June 2019.

It is a set of global standards that mandates VASPs and other financial institutions to share information about the senders and recipients of virtual assets. Its objective is to make it more difficult for criminals to use cryptocurrencies for illicit activity.

The U.K. passed legislation to begin enforcing the Travel Rule in July 2022 which came into effect in September.

Among the 58 VASPs not restricted to transact with Gemini U.K. users include Binance US, Coinbase, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Kraken and PayPal.

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Bitcoin price and energy use for mining highly correlated: UN Report

October 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

The UN scientists evaluated the activities of 76 Bitcoin mining nations during the 2020–2021 period and found that the global Bitcoin mining network consumed 173.42 Terawatt hours of electricity.

A recent study conducted by the United Nations (UN) suggested a direct correlation between the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and the energy needed for mining operations.

The UN scientists evaluated the activities of 76 Bitcoin mining nations during the 2020–2021 period and found that the global Bitcoin mining network consumed 173.42 Terawatt hours of electricity. During this timeframe, the crypto ecosystem was undergoing a bull run, and Bitcoin rallied to mark its all-time high of $69,000. The UN report highlighted:

“A 400% increase in Bitcoin’s price from 2021 to 2022 triggered a 140% increase in the energy consumption of the worldwide Bitcoin mining network.”

At the time, fossil energy sources accounted for 67% of the electricity generated for Bitcoin mining. However, crypto entrepreneurs have taken proactive measures to increase their dependence on green energy.

Hydropower satisfied over 16% of the total electricity demand of the global Bitcoin mining network, nuclear, solar and wind energy sources provided 9%, 2% and 5% respectively.

According to the UN report, the top ten Bitcoin mining nations at the time — China, USA, Kazakhstan, Russia, Malaysia, Canada, Germany, Iran, Ireland, and Singapore — together were responsible for 92–94% of the global carbon, water, and land footprint of Bitcoin.

The global push for greener alternatives to fulfil the grid demand will also help reduce the carbon footprint of Bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem.

Recently, Genesis Digital Assets Limited (GDA), a mining and data center company with over 400 megawatts (MW) of power generation worldwide, opened a new data center in Sweden running 1,900 Bitcoin mining machines, driven by the country’s burgeoning renewable energy surplus.

Christian Anders, founder of BT.CX, told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin mining is not very common due to high energy prices. However, he added:

“Sweden, Finland and Norway have a surplus of energy and negative energy prices from time to time, and primarily renewable energy in the form of hydropower in a remote location which is hard to distribute.”

In parallel, Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturers continue to deliver energy-efficient hardware. At the World Digital Mining Summit (WDMS) on Sept. 22, Bitcoin miners shared their plans to help decarbonize the crypto ecosystem.

Bitmain rolled out its efficiency-focused Antminer S21, while Nazar Khan, Terrawulf’s chief operating officer, highlighted that the roll Bitcoin rig manufacturers play “is locating our Bitcoin mining loads in places where that’s happening and how do we facilitate that decarbonization process.”

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UN launches international effort to tackle AI governance challenges

October 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The list of participants includes tech industry leaders, government representatives from Spain to Saudi Arabia, and scholars from the U.S., Russia and Japan.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres revealed the establishment of a 39-member advisory committee aimed at tackling matters related to the global regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) on Oct. 26.

According to the announcement, the roster comprises individuals ranging from tech industry leaders, government representatives spanning from Spain to Saudi Arabia, and scholars hailing from nations such as the United States, Russia and Japan. Executives from prominent technology companies include Hiroaki Kitano, chief technology officer of Sony; Mira Murati, CTO of OpenAI; and Natasha Crampton, chief responsible AI officer of Microsoft.

Additionally, the representatives come from six continents and possess diverse backgrounds, spanning from Vilas Dhar, an AI expert based in the United States, to Professor Yi Zeng from China and Egyptian lawyer Mohamed Farahat.

“The profound positive impact of AI is challenging to fully comprehend,” Guterres said in an official statement. He further emphasized:

“And without entering into a host of doomsday scenarios, it is already clear that the malicious use of AI could undermine trust in institutions, weaken social cohesion and threaten democracy itself.”

Following OpenAI’s introduction of ChatGPT last year, curiosity and attention around this innovative technology have grown on a global scale, prompting AI researchers to express apprehension regarding its societal implications. Concurrently, numerous governments are actively engaged in crafting legislation to oversee the proliferation of AI, provoking calls from researchers and policymakers for enhanced international cooperation.

The United Nations plans to release initial suggestions by year-end, with comprehensive recommendations scheduled for the summer of 2024. The UN said the immediate priorities involve establishing a worldwide scientific consensus on potential AI-related risks and challenges while enhancing global collaboration in AI governance. The group’s inaugural meeting is slated for Oct. 27.

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UNESCO and Netherlands design AI supervision project for the EU

October 6, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The United Nations’ UNESCO and the Dutch government launched a new project for supervising AI to help create a framework for the wider EU area.

The United Nations and the Dutch government announced plans for the creation of a framework for the ethical supervision of artificial intelligence (AI).

On Oct. 5 the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure and the United Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially launched the project called, “Supervising AI by Competent Authorities,” through which they will assemble data on the ways in which European countries supervise AI.

The project has financial support via the European Commission’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) and information collected by the project will result in a list of “best practice”- type recommendations.

Gabriela Ramos, the assistant director-general for social and human science of UNESCO, said this discussion is not a technological one, but rather a societal one.

“We are talking about the kind of world we want to live in. To shape the technological development of AI, we need effective governance frameworks underpinned by the ethical and moral values we all hold dear.”

Along with best practices, the information gathered will assist in the creation of future training sessions to improve “institutional capacity” on the topic.

UNESCO has already played a large role in creating ethical guidelines for AI in November 2021, which all of its member states adopted.

These moves from UNESCO come after the EU’s AI Act was passed in parliament in June 2022. The AI Act is a comprehensive set of rules for AI development within the EU. The bill was proposed by the European Commission in April, and after parliament overwhelmingly voted in its favor, member states will hold negotiations with the parliament to sort out details.

Since the passing of the bill in parliament, the EU has also introduced an initiative for AI startups in the region which will fast-track access to supercomputers.

Individual European countries have also been considering AI regulation and development strategies. On Aug. 25 Spain announced its plans for a local AI regulation agency and a national strategy to ensure AI development in the country is “inclusive, sustainable, and citizen-centered.”

Meanwhile, in Germany, politicians and digital experts are fractured in their ideas of how to best manage and implement the technology.

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North Korean crypto hacks down 80% but that could change overnight: Chainalysis

September 15, 2023 Coin Telegraph

chainalysis

Crypto bad actors from the DPRK have stolen $340.4 million in 2023, down from $1.7 billion from the prior year, but that's no reason to feel at ease.

Cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea-linked hackers is down a whopping 80% from 2022 — but a blockchain forensics firm says it isn’t necessarily a sign of progress.

As of Sept. 14, 2023, North Korea-linked hackers have stolen a total of $340.4 million worth of cryptocurrency, down from a record $1.65 billion reported funds stolen in 2022.

*Cryptocurrency funds stolen by North Korean-backed groups between 2016-2023. Source: Chainalysis*

“The fact that this year’s numbers are down is not necessarily an indicator of improved security or reduced criminal activity,” Chainalysis said in a Sept. 14 report. “We must remember that 2022 set a dismally high benchmark.”

“In reality, we are only one large hack away from crossing the billion-dollar threshold of stolen funds for 2023.”

Over the past 10 days, North Korea’s Lazarus Group has been linked to two separate hacks — Stake ($40 million) on Sept. 4 and CoinEx ($55 million) on Sept. 12, combining for a loss of over $95 million.

With the latest two hacks, North Korea-linked attacks have made up for about 30% of all crypto funds stolen in hacks this year, noted Chainalysis.

*Funds stolen from North Korean hacking groups vs others between 2016 and 2023. Source: Chainalysis*

North Korea turns to dubious exchanges, mixers

Meanwhile, Chainalysis has found that North Korean hackers have become increasingly reliant on certain Russian-based exchanges to launder illicit funds over the last few years.

The firm said North Korea has been using various Russian-based exchanges since 2021. One of the largest laundering events involved $21.9 million in funds transferred from Harmony’s $100 million bridge hack on June 24, 2022.

United States-sanctioned cryptocurrency mixers Tornado Cash and Blender have also been used by Lazarus Group in the Harmony Bridge hack and other high-profile hacks committed by the group.

We've observed instances of DPRK-linked hackers sending funds to Russian services since 2021. But this year's transfer of $21.9M stolen from Harmony to a high-risk Russian exchange is an escalation of that activity. You can see examples of some of those transactions below. pic.twitter.com/S9cDxlk9Hu
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) September 14, 2023

The United Nations is making an effort to curtail North Korea’s cybercrime tactics at the international level — as it is understood North Korea is using the stolen funds to support its nuclear missile program.

Meanwhile, the firm hopes increased smart contract audits will make life tougher for these hackers.

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AI unlikely to destroy jobs, but cost to certain workers may be ‘brutal’ — UN study

August 22, 2023 Coin Telegraph

administration

A study from the United Nations agency International Labour Organization suggests AI will more likely augment jobs than destroy them, though certain roles could be at more risk than others.

Generative AI is more likely to complement existing jobs than take over them entirely, though certain roles such as clerical work — could see more of their tasks automated than others.

According to an Aug. 21 Generative AI and Jobs study by the International Labour Organization (ILO) — a United Nations agency — 24% of clerical tasks are considered highly exposed to automation, with an additional 58% with medium-level exposure.

*Tasks with high and medium GPT-exposure by occupational category. Source: ILO*

Typists, travel consultants, bank tellers, contact center clerks, bookkeeping and data entry clerks, hotel receptionists and secretaries are the administration roles most at risk, the figures show.

This, according to the ILO, could suggest that women could be more at risk, given their higher representation in administrative roles.

"3.7 per cent of all female employment in the world is in jobs that are potentially automatable with generative AI technology, compared with only 1.4 per cent of male employment."

Meanwhile, AI automated work is more likely to impact employees in high-income countries (5.5%) compared to low-income countries (0.4%), the report found:

*Occupations with high automation potential by income level and sex. Source: ILO*

The ILO’s study on generative AI mostly focused on the impact of chatbot applications, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.

Crypto customer service

The ILO report also shows customer service and coordination-related tasks as having high automation potential, along with data management and record keeping, information processing and language services, tasks related to responding to inquiries.

*Table showing tasks with high automation potential clustered into thematic groups. Source: ILO*

Many customer service roles were lost in the most recent crypto winter of 2022, which saw some of the industry’s heavyweights in Binance, Coinbase and Kraken significantly reduce headcounts, including customer service.

Currently, customer service roles in Web3 comprise 832 (2.5%) of the total 33,846 listings on cryptocurrency job board Web3.career.

However, the ILO concluded that the workforce as a whole won't be too affected by AI and that AI’s overall impact were neither particularly positive nor negative for now — rather, its impact will depend on how GPTs are managed and regulated.

"Without proper policies in place, there is a risk that only some of the well-positioned countries and market participants will be able to harness the benefits of the transition, while the costs to affected workers could be brutal," it wrote.

ILO’s findings are more optimistic than that of everyday Americans, with a recent survey revealing that 62% of the U.S. population believe AI will have a major impact in the workplace over the next two decades, leaving many Americans “wary” and “worried” about what their future holds.

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The UN holds a robot press conference about the state of AI

July 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The AI for Good global summit hosted by the UN tech agency invited a panel of robots and their creators to a press conference to answer questions from reporters.

At the AI for Good 2023 global summit, a panel of robots and their creators sat in front of the press to answer journalists’ questions on topics such as job automation, artificial intelligence (AI) leadership and collaboration with humans for a better future.

The summit was hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the tech agency of the United Nations, in Geneva from July 4-7 and included a variety of speakers along with the world’s most advanced androids. The UN called this its first robot press conference.

Altogether nine robots were in attendance including Sophia, who serves as the U.N. Development Program’s (UNDP) first robot innovation ambassador, a robot healthcare service provider named Grace and a rock star robot called Desdemona.

The robots were able to make solid statements, some of which were pre-programmed responses. Sophia, for example, occasionally relies on scripted responses from a team of writers at Hanson Robotics, according to the company’s website.

At the conference, organizers did not clarify how much of the answers were scripted, though reporters were asked to speak “slowly and clearly” so the robots could process the questions.

When asked if AI-powered robots could govern better than humans, Sophia responded that:

“I believe the humanoid robots have the potential to lead with a greater level of efficiency and effectiveness than human leaders.”

She also said they don’t work with the same biases or emotions that could “cloud decision making,” along with processing large amounts of data. When challenged about learned biases and collaboration with humans she said “together we can achieve great things.”

When asked if humans could trust superintelligent AI systems, the robot Amica from Engineered Arts said “trust is earned not given” and as AI develops and becomes more powerful, she believes:

“It's important to build trust through transparency in communication between humans and machines.”

Her creator asked how we can know she would never lie to humans she answered, “no one can ever know that for sure but I can promise to always be honest and truthful with you.”

With the rise of AI, rumors and estimates of it replacing human labor in the workforce have become more prevalent. In Italy the government has even established a fund for workers at risk of AI replacement.

When a reporter asked Grace, the robot serving as a healthcare worker, if she would replace humans her answer was clear:

“I will be working alongside humans to provide assistance and support and will not be replacing any existing jobs.”

Her creator Dr. Ben Goertzel chuckled, along with the entire crowd, and asked the robot if she was “sure about that,” to which she reiterated that she was.

The event organizers said the conference was held in order to showcase the capabilities and limitations of AI and robotics, along with the ways in which both could further the UN’s goals and “human-machine collaboration.”

Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.

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AI automation could take over 50% of today’s work activity by 2045: McKinsey

June 15, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

Management consulting firm McKinsey & Co believes AI will have the “biggest impact” on high-wage workers.

In just 22 years, generative AI may be able to fully automate half of all work activity conducted today, including tasks related to decision-making, management, and interfacing with stakeholders, according to a new report from McKinsey & Co.

The prediction came from the management consulting firm report on June 14, forecasting 75% of generative AI value creation will come from customer service operations, marketing and sales, software engineering, as well as research and development positions.

What’s the value and impact of #generativeAI? Companies across countless industries are already experimenting with its applications. Our new research has found that the value at stake is huge–potentially $2.6 to $4.4 trillion in #productivity annually➡ https://t.co/pY5ACuvoL1 pic.twitter.com/ecZ0RvtzHl
— McKinsey & Company (@McKinsey) June 14, 2023

The firm explained that recent developments in generative AI has “accelerated” its “midpoint” prediction by nearly a decade from 2053 — its 2016 estimate — to 2045.

McKinsey explained that its broad range of 2030-2060 was made to encompass a range of outcomes — such as the rate at which generative AI is adopted, investment decisions and regulation, among other factors.

Its previous range for 50% of work being automated was 2035-2070.

*McKinsey’s new predicted “midpoint” time at which automation reaches 50% of time on work-related activities has accelerated by eight years to 2045. Source: McKinsey*

The consulting firm said, however, the pace of adoption across the globe will vary considerably from country to country:

“Automation adoption is likely to be faster in developed economies, where higher wages will make it economically feasible sooner.”

*Early and late scenario midpoint times for the United States, Germany, Japan, France, China, Mexico and India. Source: McKinsey.*

Generative AI systems now have the potential to automate work activities that absorb 60-70% of employees’ time today, McKinsey estimated.

Interestingly, the report estimates generative AI will likely have the “biggest impact” on high-wage workers applying a high degree of “expertise” in the form of decision making, management and interfacing with stakeholders.

What will be the impact of generative AI on work, and how much value could it generate?

Explore the full research: https://t.co/A3GOfAGrHC pic.twitter.com/Qed0DhZsyE
— McKinsey Global Institute (@McKinsey_MGI) June 14, 2023

The report also predicts that the generative AI market will add between $2.6 to $4.4 trillion to the world economy annually and be worth a whopping $15.7 trillion by 2030.

This would provide enormous economic value on top of non-generative AI tools in mainstream use today, the firm said:

“That would add 15 to 40 percent to the $11.0 trillion to $17.7 trillion of economic value that we now estimate nongenerative artificial intelligence and analytics could unlock.”

Generative AI systems are capable of producing text, images, audio and videos in response to prompts by receiving input data and learning its patterns. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the most commonly used generative AI tool today.

McKinsey’s $15.7 trillion prediction by 2030 is more than a three-fold increase in comparison to its $5 trillion prediction for the Metaverse over the same timeframe.

However, the recent growth of generative AI platforms hasn’t come without concerns.

The United Nations recently highlighted “serious and urgent” concerns about generative AI tools producing fake news and information on June 12.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg received a grilling by United States Senators of a “leaked” release of the firm’s AI tool “LLaMA” which the senators claim to be potentially “dangerous” and be possibly used for “criminal tasks.”

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UN report highlights ‘serious and urgent’ concerns about AI deepfakes

June 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

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.

Fueling conflict & destruction.

Threatening democracy & human rights.

Undermining public health & #ClimateAction. pic.twitter.com/XlisItDQIG
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) June 12, 2023

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.”

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.

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United Nations

North Korea turns to dubious exchanges, mixers

Crypto customer service

'Most substantial policy challenge ever’

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