Launch of veteran card will be used to test UK government’s digital ID scheme
Former military personnel will be used to test and refine the government’s divisive digital ID scheme from Friday, when ministers make a smartphone-based veteran card available to 1.8 million people.The proof of service, which in its current physical version gives access to charities, retail discounts and certain public services, will be the first of a series of official credentials the government wants to let people carry in a government app.Digital driving licences will be in development by the end of this year and by the end of 2027, digital versions of every government-issued credential – including disclosure and barring checks – will be offered for voluntary use, officials said.Keir Starmer wants to make carrying a digital ID mandatory for anyone wanting or needing to prove their right to work in the UK by the end of this parliament.
That plan sparked cross-party opposition and a 2,9 million-signature petition calling for it to be dropped,But the technology secretary, Liz Kendall, this week complained of “scaremongering” and said digital IDs would not be used to track citizens and “there will be no pooling of people’s private information into a single, central dataset”,Ministers hope the digital veteran card will show how the technology works and quash public concerns about privacy and security,Kendall said it “will help remove barriers, reduce red tape and make it easier for people to access the public services they need”.
The Royal British Legion, the veterans’ charity that sells poppies, called the card “a positive development” and said it could improve access to services and benefits for the armed forces communities.But other veterans oppose it.Stephen Kent, the media director of Veterans Association UK, a small not-for-profit members’ group, said: “We don’t need it.It’s not for what Labour says it’s for ….A lot of veterans don’t like the idea of it [and that they] are using us as an experiment.
”Veterans will be able hold the credential in a smartphone app called Gov,uk One Login,The government had previously said digital credentials, including the veteran card, would be held in an app called the Gov,uk Wallet,It now says it will “transition to talking about [One Login] as the Gov.
uk Wallet” as more government-issued credentials become available digitally,The credential will be stored under encryption in the app in a similar way to a train or concert ticket is held in an Apple or Google wallet,Verification by face ID or a fingerprint will be required to access it and the government says it is safer than physical IDs,Another version of the credential will be held by the Ministry of Defence and when more IDs are added, the information will remain with each issuer and in the citizens’ app so there is no central database of all ID data creating what some have feared could be a “honeypot for hackers”,The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Scottish National party have all opposed the digital ID plan.
Labour opponents include the MP Richard Burgon, who said it threatened “civil liberties and our data security and [creates] the risk of our data being handed over to US tech giants”.Kendall told parliament on Monday the government “absolutely will not” hand over control of any digital ID system containing information about people’s lives.Ministers have said they expect it to be built by the government’s in-house digital services department.Industry estimates suggest it could cost about £1bn to set up.Kendall also ruled out the system ever allowing the government to track location, consumer spending habits or social media activity.
And she said that at no stage in the future would people be required by the police to produce the digital ID.MPs have voiced fears it could be weaponised by future governments.The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.Secure Messaging in the Guardian appThe Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories.
Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs,This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said,If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu,Select ‘Secure Messaging’,SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and postIf you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.
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Heed warnings from Wolmar on robotaxis | Brief letters
In assessing the merits of driverless taxis (Driverless taxis from Waymo will be on London’s roads next year, US firm announces, 15 October), passengers should consider the cautions presented in Christian Wolmar’s book Driverless Cars: On a Road to Nowhere. Adherence to Isaac Asimov’s first law of robotics (“A robot may not injure a human being”) requires the taxi to stop if a person steps in front of it. Highway robbery or worse may be facilitated.Prof Clive CoenKing’s College London Your article (Parliamentary staff of colour earn £2,000 less than white colleagues, study suggests, 12 October) says that disabled employees earn £646 less a year “than able-bodied colleagues”. Disabilities come in many forms, not all physical
Barrister found to have used AI to prepare for hearing after citing ‘fictitious’ cases
An immigration barrister was found by a judge to be using AI to do his work for a tribunal hearing after citing cases that were “entirely fictitious” or “wholly irrelevant”.Chowdhury Rahman was discovered using ChatGPT-like software to prepare his legal research, a tribunal heard. Rahman was found not only to have used AI to prepare his work, but “failed thereafter to undertake any proper checks on the accuracy”.The upper tribunal judge Mark Blundell said Rahman had even tried to hide the fact he had used AI and “wasted” the tribunal’s time. Blundell said he was considering reporting Rahman to the Bar Standards Board
Italian news publishers demand investigation into Google’s AI Overviews
Italian news publishers are calling for an investigation into Google’s AI Overviews, arguing that the search engine’s AI-generated summaries feature is a “traffic killer” that threatens their survival.FIEG, the Italian federation of newspaper publishers, said it has submitted a formal complaint to Agcom, Italy’s communications watchdog.Similar complaints have been filed in other EU countries. Coordinated by the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association, the aim is to push the European Commission to open an investigation against Google under the EU Digital Services Act.The threat posed by AI Overviews, which gives users information without them having to click through to the original source by summarising searches with a block of text at the top of the results page, is among the main concerns of European news outlets
Spotify partnering with multinational music companies to develop ‘responsible’ AI products
Spotify has announced it is teaming up with the world’s biggest music companies to develop “responsible” artificial intelligence products that respect artists’ copyright.The market-leading music streamer is collaborating with the Sony, Universal and Warner music groups – whose combined rosters feature artists including Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift – to create new AI features.Spotify did not give details of what the new products would entail, but the company said artists would not be forced to participate, and their copyright would not be violated.In a blogpost announcing the agreement, Spotify referred pointedly to a move-fast-and-break-things approach to copyright in some parts of the tech industry. The tension between the music industry and some tech firms has already led to three major labels suing AI companies whose tools create music from user prompts
Driverless taxis from Waymo will be on London’s roads next year, US firm announces
People in London could be hiring driverless taxis from Waymo next year, after the US autonomous vehicle company announced plans to launch its services there.The UK capital will become the first European city to have an autonomous taxi service of the kind now familiar in San Francisco and four other US cities using Waymo’s technology.The launch pits an innovation sometimes dubbed the “robotaxi” against London’s famous black cabs, which can trace their history back to the first horse-drawn hackney coaches of the Tudor era.But a representative of the capital’s cab drivers said they were not concerned by the arrival of a “fairground ride” and questioned the reliability of driverless vehicles.Waymo said its cars were now on their way to London and would start driving on the capital’s streets in the coming weeks with “trained human specialists”, or safety drivers, behind the wheel
iPhone Air review: Apple’s pursuit of absolute thinness
The iPhone Air is a technical and design marvel that asks: how much are you willing to give up for a lightweight and ultra-slender profile?The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Beyond the obvious engineering effort that has gone into creating one of the slimmest phones ever made, the Air is a reductive exercise that boils down the iPhone into the absolute essentials in a premium body.Cut away the rear cameras, slim down the battery, remove the stereo speakers and maximise the screen, and what is left is an impressive sliver of titanium and glass
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