Author: admin

• Anthropic introduced identity verification for “a few use cases,” requiring some Claude users to upload government IDs.
• Persona Identities will manage and secure the ID data for the Claude users prompted to verify their identity.
• An Anthropic spokesperson wrote that ID verification will be used when it sees “potentially fraudulent or abusive behavior.”

Claude may soon ask to see your ID.

Anthropic recently added “identity verification” to its safeguards, requiring some users to provide a passport, driver’s license, or government ID, along with a live selfie. The company is rolling it out for “a few use cases,” according to its Help Center.

Anthropic says it’s the “data controller,” setting the rules for where ID data is used and how long it is kept. But Persona Identities, an ID verification startup, will collect and store the user information.

Persona is contractually obligated to employ user data “only to provide and support verification and to improve their ability to prevent fraud,” Anthropic said.

So why is Anthropic asking some Claude users to prove who they are?

“This applies to a small number of cases where we see activity that indicates potentially fraudulent or abusive behavior, which violates our usage policy,” an Anthropic spokesperson wrote to Business Insider.

If Anthropic deems that the activity violates its usage policy, the Claude user’s account could be banned.

Anthropic’s help page lists the following potential reasons for why an account might be banned after completing ID verification:

• Repeated violations of our Usage Policy
• Account creation from an unsupported location
• Terms of Service violations
• Under-18 usage

Anthropic also offers an appeals form that can be filled out if a user feels their account has been wrongfully banned.

Claude users bristle at the idea of ID checks

Claude users on X have already started noticing the requests for an ID. One user posted a screenshot of the request in Claude, which asked for a “quick identity check.” It wrote that the request would only take two minutes and required an ID and mobile camera access.

Another screenshot posted online shows what it looks like once the process is completed. “Thank you for verifying your identity,” it wrote, accompanied by a celebratory graphic.

The backlash on X was swift. “Anthropic making unexplainable decisions,” one user wrote. “We are living in 1984,” another wrote.

In its Help Center, Anthropic also included a list of things it was not doing. Anthropic was not training its models on the data from ID verifications, it wrote. It also wrote that it wasn’t sharing ID data with anyone beyond Anthropic and Persona, except where legally required.

“We are not collecting more than we need,” Anthropic wrote. “We ask for the minimum information required to verify your identity.”

• Brittany Antoinette Wilson is a 34-year-old brand manager who lives in Brooklyn.
• Brittany’s dad, Nathaniel Hood, has an impressive collection of sneakers.
• Brittany says that she has learned the art of conservation from her dad.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brittany Antoinette Wilson. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Since I was a little girl, my dad has been a collector. He started off with comics, meticulously storing them so they wouldn’t suffer wear and tear. More than 30 years later, the comics he has look as good as new.

When I was 4, my dad started collecting baseball caps. He’d line them up perfectly, row after row, on the wall.

In 2005, he started collecting sneakers. My dad loved and continues to love fashion — he’s obsessed with clothing and appearance. It’s really important to him. He’d especially always had a thing for sneakers.

I remember him attempting to pass on his love of sneakers to me when I was a little girl. All I wanted at the time were pink, Barbie-doll shoes that lit up, but dad made sure I wore Jordans and Nikes.

He has around 500 pairs of sneakers now

His collection of sneakers originated from his love of them. He’d buy pairs he liked and just keep buying them, displaying them to make sure they didn’t fall apart. He has and always will wear the sneakers he collects.

The number of sneakers grew, filling up every wall in a bedroom when he lived in the Bronx, and now filling the majority of his basement at his house in Connecticut. The bigger the space he had, the more shoes he could buy and display.

Now, he has around 500 pairs of sneakers. His collection is estimated to be worth $85,000 to $125,000.

Over the years, he’s built a business from his sneaker collection. People know if they want a certain sneaker, Nathaniel is the one to go to.

He acquires sneakers in different ways

This came in handy for me growing up. Whenever my friends wanted a particular type of sneaker, I could tell them my dad could sort it out. It always made me feel special — that I had a dad with this niche skill that my friends wanted access to.

If there is a drop of new releases, my dad has so many connections that he can get the sneakers before anyone else. He knows what is coming out, always ahead of the curve.

He’s waited in lines for days to be at a shoe shop (sometimes just a middle-of-nowhere store, sometimes a well-known one) when they open their doors to sell a new release. I remember on several occasions, he’s traveled to different states just for a pair of sneakers. He’s used my travels to get sneakers, too. Once I was in Paris, he called. I thought he was checking up on me, but no, he wanted me to get my hands on a pair of shoes he had found.

He’ll scour the internet and enter lotteries to find a pair of sneakers he wants. There are pairs that can’t be found elsewhere, and yet he has managed to get them.

He also just collects shoes he likes. Being fashion-conscious (something he is well-known for), Dad knows what looks good before anyone else does. He is what I like to call a taste maker — he makes you realize what looks good before you know it looks good. He’ll often put shoes on (ones you think are disgusting), and you suddenly realize you want them. His fashion sense is unique, and he’s known for it in the New York City streetwear community.

He taught me to take care of my things

Growing up the oldest daughter of an avid collector, I’ve learned lessons I might not have otherwise.

Dad taught me to take care of my things and to make them last. Every single thing he collects is kept as a memento in what feels like a museum. He preserves things meticulously so they don’t break, deteriorate, or lose their value.

He also just appreciates beautiful things, in particular, fashion. I know that my love of fashion is from him, connecting me to him even though we aren’t as close anymore. His sneaker collection and taste in music, food, and fashion are a reminder that my dad and I are father and daughter — that we are more alike than we realize. I’m a tastemaker because of him; I’ve learned the art of curation from him.

Now, I just need him to source me a pair of Nike Air Rifts that I’ve been requesting for the past two years.

• I took my first cruise solo on Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas.
• My trip was full of surprises, from the price of the room to the best way to meet people.
• Excursions were more social than I expected, and people kept asking me where my parents were.

I’d traveled long distances solo by plane and train — so why not try cruising alone?

In April 2022, I went on my first cruise by myself. During my seven-night solo voyage on board Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas, my ship sailed to Roatán, Honduras; Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico; and Royal Caribbean’s own private island in the Bahamas.

As a longtime solo traveler and first-time cruiser, a few things surprised me about cruising alone. From booking the trip to setting sail, here’s what I didn’t expect.

When booking my cruise, I was surprised to find that the room rate was higher for just one person than for two.

Because most cruise ship staterooms are meant to hold at least two people, booking a room by yourself often means you still have to pay higher prices. Some cruise ships have solo cabins for just one person, but mine didn’t. 

When I booked my cruise, the listed rates for my ship were per person, not per room. But when switching between one and two guests in my search, the cost per person doubled when I had just one person selected. This is known as paying a “single supplement,” as it helps the cruise line make up for the revenue it would have generated from having a second person on board.

For $2,000, I got an ocean-view stateroom to myself. It would have cost about half the price per person if I had brought someone with me.

It was easier to meet people on the ship than I expected it would be as a solo traveler.

As someone who is typically shy around new people, I was surprised by how easy it was to talk to other travelers on the ship.

Couples, families, and other solo cruisers seemed open to chatting and sharing their experiences with me around the pool decks and at various eateries and common spaces. After all, we had at least one thing in common — being on this epic vacation. 

I thought I’d have a hard time navigating the ports to find my excursion groups, but since I booked through the cruise line, there were so many signs and directions that made it easy.

At each cruise port, passengers may disembark to spend their time as they wish. They might sightsee independently, take a taxi to a beach, link up with a local tour guide, or join an official cruise-line excursion.

I joined a cruise-line excursion at every port and was nervous about finding my group amid the large crowds. However, I was given clear directions on where to meet my group each time, and there were so many posted signs that it was easy. 

I figured that since I was a solo traveler, I’d experience the ports alone, but I found that many people on excursions were looking to meet new people. It made making friends easy.

I found that excursions were the easiest way to meet people on the ship. With group activities like hiking and plenty of downtime on bus rides to and from the tour locations, I spent most of my time socializing. On a guided hike in Roatán, Honduras, I met couples, families, and one other solo traveler.

But I was shocked to be mistaken for a child every time I entered or exited the ship.

“Where are your parents?” was a question I had to answer nearly every day of my cruise.

Cruise-line workers were quick to assume that I was a lost child rather than a solo cruiser each time I entered and exited the ship. This could be because I look young (in my opinion), but it also made me think that solo cruising might be less common at 26, my age at the time.

Even as a single person on the world’s largest cruise ship, it can be hard to find a chair on the pool deck after noon.

Wonder of the Seas is one of the largest cruise ships in the world, so I thought that it would be pretty easy to find a single pool chair on the ship at any time.

But by midday, most of the chairs were occupied or covered with towels. While saving chairs with towels wasn’t allowed on my ship, I didn’t see the rule enforced, so I had to arrive early to secure a good spot. 

While I thought my first cruise was still enjoyable alone, if I were to take another one, I’d prefer to bring a buddy.

Despite the social activities and friendly cruisers who loved to chat with random strangers like me, I still found myself feeling lonely on the ship. I longed to have a conversation with someone who knew me or to share my experiences in new places with a loved one. Being surrounded by so many families and groups of friends made me wish I could be with mine.

If I cruise again, I’ll definitely bring my own crew.

Bryan Johnson shared a simple longevity test at a Business Insider event.

Bryan Johnson says he didn’t teach his son enough about sex and wants to change that.

• A Manhattan jury found Live Nation liable for violating antitrust laws.
• The DOJ and nearly 40 states initially sued to split the Ticketmaster parent company two years ago.
• The verdict could pave the way for a breakup of the company.

Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation holds an illegal monopoly over the concert and live event industry, a Manhattan federal jury found on Wednesday.

The entertainment giant was found liable for violating antitrust laws following a roughly six-week civil trial. The jury’s verdict, which came on the fourth day of deliberations, could pave the way for steep monetary penalties — or a court-ordered breakup of the company.

The Department of Justice, plus 39 states and the District of Columbia, sued Live Nation about two years ago to force a split from Ticketmaster, alleging that the company’s market dominance drove up ticket prices for fans of live music, sports events, and theater.

The plaintiffs have argued that Live Nation controls 78% of the large amphitheaters used by artists and, through Ticketmaster, 86% of primary ticketing at major concert venues — meaning the initial sale of tickets.

Days into the trial in March, it emerged that the Justice Department and Live Nation had agreed to a settlement that would allow the company to remain intact. Several states also signed on to the deal, which still needs approval from US District Judge Arun Subramanian.

A senior Justice Department official told reporters last month that the DOJ was “confident” it would have won at trial, but that its goal was to get American concertgoers “relief as fast as possible.”

The remaining 30-plus plaintiff states moved forward with the court fight against Live Nation as attorneys general bashed the settlement terms, saying they favored the company over consumers.

“This is a historic and resounding victory for artists, fans, and the venues that support them,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said after the verdict was reached. “In the face of dwindling antitrust enforcement by the Trump Administration, this verdict shows just how far states can go to protect our residents from big corporations that are using their power to illegally raise prices and rip-off Americans.”

Live Nation, which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, has maintained that it does not have a monopoly and that concert ticket prices are relatively low, especially compared to those for sporting events.

Subramanian is set to schedule future proceedings to determine the total amount in damages, final penalties, and restitution for consumers.

The jury on Wednesday found that Live Nation overcharged consumers for tickets sold between May 2020 through 2024, by $1.72 for each ticket, but the judge can order the company to pay additional damages.