The UK and the US have signed a bilateral artificial intelligence (AI) agreement to collaborate in mitigating the risk of AI models; following commitments made at the AI Safety Summit in November 2023. 

Following this partnership, both the UK and the US will build a common approach to AI safety testing and work closely to accelerate robust suites of evaluations for AI models, systems and agents. The memorandum of understanding was signed by Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Michelle Donelan, on behalf of the UK, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, on behalf of the US.

Both countries have set out plans to share their capabilities to ensure they can effectively tackle AI risks. The UK and US AI Safety Institutes intend to perform at least one joint testing exercise on a publicly accessible model. They also intend to tap into a collective pool of expertise by exploring personnel exchanges between the Institutes.

“This agreement represents a landmark moment, as the UK and the US deepen our enduring special relationship to address the defining technology challenge of our generation,” explained Donelan.

The partnership will take effect immediately and is intended to enable both organisations to work seamlessly with one another. As AI rapidly develops, both governments recognise the need to act now to ensure a shared approach to AI safety which can keep pace with the technology’s emerging risks.

Raimondo said: “AI is the defining technology of our generation. This partnership is going to accelerate both of our Institutes’ work across the full spectrum of risks, whether to our national security or to our broader society. Our partnership makes clear that we aren’t running away from these concerns – we’re running at them. Because of our collaboration, our Institutes will gain a better understanding of AI systems, conduct more robust evaluations, and issue more rigorous guidance.”

Assessing generative AI

Henry Balani, global head of industry and regulatory affairs at Encompass Corporation, said: “Generative AI, in particular, has a huge role to play across the financial services industry, improving the accuracy and speed of detection of financial crime by analysing large data sets, for example.

“Mitigating the risks of AI, through this collaboration agreement with the US, is a key step towards mitigating risks of financial crime, fostering collaboration and supporting innovation in a crucial, advancing area of technology.

“Generative AI is here to augment the work of staff across the financial services sector, and particularly KYC analysts, by streamlining processes and combing through vast data sets quickly and accurately. But for this to be truly effective, banks and financial institutions need to first put in place robust digital and automated processes to optimise data quality and deliver deeper customer insights, which can help to fuel the use of generative AI.”

Perttu Nihti, chief product officer of Basware, also discussed the importance of AI: “AI can significantly bolster the accuracy of fraud detection through sophisticated algorithms that analyse vast amounts of data to detect outliers and suspicious activity indicative of fraudulent behaviour. Not only that, but AI algorithms can be trained to minimise and reduce false positives which limits the number of legitimate transactions that are mistakenly flagged as fraudulent.

“As CFOs battle against the rising tide of fraud, implementing AI and ML solutions through partner organisations is a good way to share the compliance burden. The CFO is ultimately responsible, but having a trusted partner who can stay on top of evolving mandates and regulations, as well as reduce the risk of fraud through technology can help share the load.”

Crypto exchange platform Bybit has launched ‘Keyless Wallet’, a new self-custody solution looking to positively impact digital asset security and accessibility.

Built using Multiparty Computation (MPC) technology, the Bybit Keyless Wallet looks to empower users with enhanced control over their assets, by removing the need for more vulnerable private keys and third-party trust.

Keyless Wallet eliminates the need for users to memorise or store private keys, mitigating the risk of loss and compromise. Instead, private keys are distributed and processed in secure enclaves, significantly enhancing security.

The Bybit Keyless Wallet is currently undergoing a security audit by security-focused ranking platform CertiK, which monitors blockchain protocols and DeFi projects.

The new Bybit wallet boasts three-factor authentication, requiring users’ Bybit account, recovery password, and personal cloud storage to ensure secure account retrieval.

Bybit is also celebrating reaching 1 million users on its Bybit Web3 wallet and has plans to introduce a seed phrase wallet in February. Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, commented on the developments: “At Bybit, we believe Web3 holds immense potential, but complexity and security concerns remain significant barriers to entry. Keyless Wallet is an important milestone of our Web3 vision to build a simpler, open, and equal ecosystem for everyone, where security isn’t sacrificed for convenience.

“We are also thrilled with the overwhelming support from the Web3 community as our Bybit Web3 wallet reaches one million users, marking a celebratory achievement in our journey towards a more inclusive digital landscape.”

Bybit Web3 offers a suite of Web3 products designed to make accessing, swapping, collecting and growing Web3 assets as open and simple as possible. The Bybit crypto exchange platform has around 20 million users globally.

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has launched his final attempt to appeal a Montenegrin court’s decision that could see him extradited from the country. 

In a Dec. 6 report, local state media stated that lawyers for Kwon had officially appealed the Nov. 24 decision from the High Court of Podgorica, which approved that Kwon could be extradited to either the United States or South Korea pending a final decision by the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice will now consider the appeal and reexamine the initial extradition order and is currently slated to make a final decision on the matter by Dec. 15.

According to a Nov. 24 statement from the High Court of Podogrica, Kwon expressed that he would prefer to be extradited the South Korea, rather than the the United States.

Lawyers for Kwon first hit back at extradition requests from the U.S. on Sept. 28, claiming that any attempt to deport the beleaguered co-founder before Oct. 13 would be “impossible” due to his ongoing detention in Montenegro.

Related: Jury in Terraform Labs case shouldn’t decide whether crypto is a security — SEC

On Feb. 17, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued both Terraform Labs and Kwon for “orchestrating a multibillion-dollar crypto asset securities fraud.”

Today we charged Singapore-based Terraform Labs PTE Ltd and Do Hyeong Kwon with orchestrating a multi-billion-dollar crypto asset securities fraud involving an algorithmic stablecoin and other crypto asset securities.

— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) February 16, 2023

Kwon, along with former Terraform Labs chief financial officer Han Chong-joon were arrested on March 23 at Podgorica airport for travelling with falsified travel documentation while attempting to depart for Dubai.

Kwon was later taken into extradition custody in Montenegro on June 15 and was ordered to 6 months imprisonment while the court mulled whether to extradite him to the U.S. or South Korea.

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