Monday, December 9, 2024

A crucial test for age assurance tech

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Image Credits: Aping Vision / STS / Getty Images

With Australia's recent passage of a law banning social media for children under 16, Natasha Lomas examines the tech that exists to verify, estimate, or infer an internet user's age — which could become even more relevant if other countries follow Australia's lead.

The new effort is being overseen by a U.K. nonprofit called the Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), whose CEO and founder, Tony Allen, told TechCrunch that demand is growing for age check methods that preserve users' privacy. In fact, Allen said ACCS is already doing age assurance test projects "all over the world."

Keep reading to see what else TechCrunch is covering this weekend.

Weekend news and opinion

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

The latest YC startups that enterprises should watch: Accelerator Y Combinator held a Demo Day for its fall cohort this week, and Rebecca Szkutak highlights four startups that should be particularly relevant to enterprises. The companies include HumanLayer, which allows AI agents to contact humans for approval, and Raycaster, which has built a research agent for enterprise sales. Read more

How to watch OpenAI's latest product announcements: OpenAI has announced the "12 Days of OpenAI," with product announcements, demos, and "stocking stuffers" coming at 10 a.m. PT for 12 consecutive weekdays, starting with a $200 monthly ChatGPT Pro subscription. Read more

Toka helps agencies hack into security cameras: Charles Rollet digs into Toka, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup that specializes in helping the FBI and other U.S. government agencies hack into security cameras and other internet-connected devices. The company isn't saying much publicly, but it emphasizes that it "only sells" to U.S. agencies and those of "its closest allies." Read more

What else we're reading

📗 Wired's Steven Levy spoke with Tim Cook about Apple Intelligence, with the Apple CEO claiming that his company has been preparing for the rise of AI for years. At the same time, Cook said the company's real legacy will be "great products that changed the world" — including products that save people's lives. Read more

📗 Also, Platformer argued against "the phony comforts of AI skepticism." Read more