In a presentation ostensibly about the digital divide between the haves and the have nots, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Verizon Chairman Hans Vestberg also called for the creation of a national digital ID system, calling it part of the “social contract,” a concept first effectively articulated by famous womanizer and early “intellectual” Jacques Rousseau.
In promoting national digital ID, Banga stated, Private companies shouldn’t own that (digital ID system). It is the social contract of a citizen with their country to have an identity, a currency and safety. They should have digital identity and that digital identity should guarantee the privacy of that citizen… I think the way digital is growing right now under AI, it will require a shorter time frame [to complete tasks] and the Bank needs to be focused on that. I think of digital as the breakthrough technology that takes out the arbitrage of the incumbent and enables new ways to reach populations without the traditional challenge of the expense of reaching them for healthcare, education, and everything.”
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