Something’s been nagging at me this week. Word is spreading that Anthropic — the company behind Claude — is starting to require identity verification for users. Not just a credit card or an email address. We’re talking government-issued ID and facial recognition scans.

Let that sink in for a moment. A facial recognition scan. To use a chatbot.

I’ve been following the online discussion around this, and the reactions range from darkly amused to genuinely alarmed. Someone in one thread summed it up perfectly: “You now need to submit your passport and a DNA sample for every website or app. How the fuck did we reach this point?” A bit hyperbolic, sure, but the sentiment is completely understandable. There’s a very real sense that the walls are closing in on ordinary people who just want to use technology without handing over their entire identity.

Been thinking about this a lot lately after stumbling across a discussion online that genuinely made me laugh and then think a lot harder than I expected to for a Thursday afternoon.

Someone from Western Sydney was talking about how they flip between polished corporate-speak in the office and full “wallah bruva I’m from The Area” mode the moment they’re around other ethnics on a smoke break. And the responses? Gold. Turns out basically everyone does some version of this, regardless of background, culture, or postcode.

So I’ve been down a rabbit hole this week, sparked by a thread I stumbled across where someone had one of those “wait, how much am I actually spending on subscriptions?” moments. You know the feeling — you sit down, add it all up, and suddenly you’re staring at a number that makes you question your life choices. Netflix, Disney+, Prime, Spotify, maybe a Binge or Paramount+ thrown in for good measure… it adds up faster than you’d think.