Over the past decade, virtual assistants powered by artificial intelligence, like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, have become integral to technologies such as smartphones and social media.   More recently, a new type of human-like chatbots are on the rise: AI romantic companions. Chatbots are AI-powered programs that engage with humans through text, voice and […]

In April, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shri Shaktikanta Das announced plans to expand its retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot beyond banks. Last month the central bank said payment providers would join the digital rupee pilot this quarter. Now Reuters reported that five payment providers have applied, citing sources. They are Google Pay, […]

Image by Ledger Insights.   Thai digital money giveaway highlights programmable money challenges   At the start of August, Thailand opened the registration process for the 10,000 baht ($284) digital money giveaway that was part of an election pledge last year. This week the Senate approved a budget increase to fund the payments to less […]

Image by The Crypto Times   Andrej Karpathy, a former Tesla AI director and OpenAI co-founder, announced on July 16 the launch of Eureka Labs, a startup aimed at developing “a new kind of school that is AI native.”   The company’s goal is to leverage generative AI to create virtual teaching assistants, that can […]

On Friday Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened applications for its Digital Asset Regulatory Sandbox. As with most sandboxes, the aim is to explore innovations in the sector which may not currently be allowed by legislation. The term “digital asset” is often usually broadly, but has a specific meaning in Thailand. It includes both […]

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has digitized 42 million car titles on a blockchain, according to the developer Oxhead Alpha and Ava Labs. The digitization is not on a permissionless blockchain. Instead, it is on a DMV-run blockchain, which we assume is an Avalanche subnet. Avalanche subnets are permissioned blockchains which have separate validators […]

Image by The Crypto Times A group of anonymous whistleblowers has reportedly filed a complaint against the AI company OpenAI, alleging that the company used illegal non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to prevent former employees from warning regulators about the risks of AI technology. According to documents obtained by the Washington Post from Senator Chuck Grassley’s office, […]

In June the Swiss National Bank (SNB) extended its wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) pilot by two years. That major news overshadowed another groundbreaking first: the central bank conducted DLT-based monetary policy operations by issuing CHF 64 million in digital SNB Bills on the SIX Digital Exchange’s DLT. They were redeemed seven days later. […]

Image by The Crypto Times The new blockchain system will boost document authenticity and security, especially for complex Transferable Development Rights (TDR) transactions. Indian city Ahmedabad is modernizing by seeking technology partners to develop a blockchain-based system for document management. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) aims to develop a blockchain-based system to improve the management […]

Arguably, the two biggest challenges for retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are whether the public sees them as useful and concerns about privacy. Despite coverage to the contrary, central banks design most current CBDCs with good intentions. However, with many countries shifting towards more divisive politics, some worry that CBDCs designs could be tweaked. […]