The News

Government digital IDs are becoming the norm

The United Kingdom will make digital IDs compulsory for workers as more countries roll out the schemes (The Guardian). Prime minister Keir Starmer framed the June 2029 deadline for the digital ID work requirement as about making it “tougher to work illegally in this country” — vomit — but also spruiked the benefits of making it easier for citizens to prove their identity (Gov dot uk). 1.6 million people have signed a petition opposing the plan (Guardian). Meanwhile, the Swiss also voted to introduce a digital, voluntary version of its existing physical government ID card (The Guardian).

The Sizzle: This digital ID stuff sends some people crazy for dumb reasons but also does raise legit concerns about its potential misuse. But I think digital ID schemes can be better than the status quo — if they’re done right.

We live in the worst of both worlds at the moment. Every time I go into a pub, rent a car, apply for a share-house, sign up for an internet plan, open a bank account, get a passport, I have to hand over 100 points of ID. We already live in a surveillance state cobbled together by private companies. I personally would like a more transparent tech-enabled scheme that allows me to prove my identity without handing all this stuff over. A digital ID scheme can work so that it vouches for some information — “yes, this person is over 18, no I’m not going to give you their date of birth” — without handing all my info all over. I do fear what an authoritarian government could do with this. But what about everything dystopian that’s happening to me right now? (What do you think? Let me know!)

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

When an EV maker went bankrupt, its owners picked up the slack

Owners of a collapsed EV carmaker’s vehicles have banded together to provide support for their cars (The Verge). Earlier this year, Fisker collapsed into bankruptcy, leaving the 11,000 vehicles it had delivered without any support (The Verge). Owners feared that if anything happened to their vehicle, they’d be completely bricked without the carmaker’s support (Business Insider).

More than 4,000 of the vehicle’s owners are paying US$550 each year to the non-profit Fisker Owners Association to get access to software updates and new hardware for their cars. It’s developed a third-party mobile app that restores some of the car’s basic features including climate control, and it’s about to release a new device that will give the cars new features like wireless carplay and keyless entry. It’s a reminder that we don’t just have to depend on these companies to make technology work for us.

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Big techs are in a circle, passing around billions to each other

There’s been a flood of big tech companies investing billions of dollars into each other in quite a circular fashion that’s raising some eyebrows. Last week, Nvidia announced it would invest “as much as US$100 billion in OpenAI” (Bloomberg, $). Earlier in the month, OpenAI committed US$300 billion to buying cloud services from Oracle (Bloomberg, $), which is a major customer of Nvidia. Nvidia, also, tipped US$5 billion into Intel (Bloomberg, $).

The Sizzle: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last month said the following: Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about AI? My opinion is yes” (CNBC).

But there’s another reason why there’s so much money is being splashed around: Nvidia literally has too much money (WSJ, gift link). Even if you believe that AI companies are overvalued and that they’re spending too much money for how much the market is worth, a key part is that this money is “well-capitalized hyperscalers – firms like Microsoft and Alphabet Inc. — rather than from risky debt” (Bloomberg, $). So, we’re probably due a market correction but the people who’ve been funding all this development are Rich Guys who won’t go under if everything goes to shit… I think.

Anyway, here’s a good article reminding us what happened during the 2000s dot com bubble (Fortune).

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Leftovers

Australia:

Rest of the world:

Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Oh, Also

They put a snake in your URL bar

URL bars do a lot these days. Not only do they take you to websites, search the internet for you, but now they can be a gaming console: someone has hacked together a website that lets you play Snake from your address bar, complete with score. Perfect for playing a relaxing game while your managers think you’re hard at work (or maybe that you’re a weirdo for staring at a blank web page).

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Bargains

Electrical & electronics

Computing

Mobile

The End

😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.

🤖 We love robots at the Sizzle but this newsletter has always been and will always be written by humans for humans.

🗣️ Have any feedback, a tip or just want to chat? Send me an email or Signal message. I promise to reply!

💬 Want to hang out with other Sizzlers? There’s a subscriber-only Slack server and forum if you want to procrastinate and chat about tech-related news.

🌐 The Sizzle is on Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn if you’re feeling social.

💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the Beehiiv customer portal.

🎁 Make someone's day and gift them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle.

💔 Don’t want this any more? I won’t take it personally. There’s a unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email or here’s a guide.

🦺 The Sizzle has been tested to meet and exceed ISO 3533 standards.

Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land

The Sizzle is created on Gadigal land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.