Paul Stenhouse: ChatGPT group chats, digital passports in the USA, iPhone Pocket

New Zealanders are getting a new ChatGPT feature  

In a pilot with select countries, you'll be able to have a 'group chat' with ChatGPT. It's available on all plans, and Open AI wants feedback before it's rolled out more broadly. You can invite between 1 and 20 people to join you. Apparently ChatGPT knows when to stay quiet and when to chime in, and you can summon it if you need.  

  

Americans can now put their passport on their phone  

Apple has launched Digital ID in the USA, allowing anyone with a US passport to be able to load it onto their phone. At the moment, the best way to think about it is like having a verified digital copy on your phone with you. You can't use it at the border just yet, but you can use it at security checkpoints for domestic flights. Slowly State IDs are rolling out on the platform too, so it will be interesting to see if hospitality establishments allow this as a form of ID.  

NZ is working on digital driver's licenses, which had a goal to launch in "late 2025", but it seems they won't be done 'natively' with the Apple or Android software, but will be in a separate app.  

  

Is the iPhone "pocket" the next big fashion thing?  

Apple has partnered with Japanese designer Issey Miyake. The iPhone Pocket is described as a "cloth sling" for your phone that costs $150. If you want it as a cross body, that'll be $230. It looks like a sock with handles on it that then join again at the top, so there's a loop in the middle so you can thread it onto your bag. It's "3D knitted", in wildly bright colours and fits any iPhone (or, non-Apple phone). it's only available in select locations, so might be the next Labubu? 

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks at B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
We started the show this morning, well, I started the
show by admitting I am getting more and more digital
by the day. I'm a sucker for convenience, I admit it.
So when digital driver's licenses are introduced, I will be
among the first in line. But in the US, of course,
they've gone one step further. In the last week, Apple
has confirmed it's introducing digital passports, just in time for

(00:36):
the Thanksgiving holiday season. Texbert Paul Stenhouse is here with
the details. Paul, what could possibly go wrong?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
No? Nothing, And Jack, I'm just like you at the moment,
I could download it and put my passport on my phone.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Of course I did.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
It because it's just convenient. People. Look, unless there's some
bigger conspiracy or bigger thing happening, all it is is
that your passport details are loaded onto your phone. It's
no different really than taking a photo of your past
or I don't know, writing down the details into a note,
you know, like it really isn't that scary. I think

(01:13):
people are concerned about maybe the apps and if you
use it with an app, either in person or online,
which is part of the feature, right, so it's trying
to make it more accessible. You know, what could they
do with the data. But you know, maybe I'm naive,
maybe I'm wrong, but I do tend to trust Apple
with this one, and I will say they made the

(01:34):
process remarkably easy. So I think when the New Zealand
Digital driver's licenses roll out, which they were talking about
late twenty twenty five, which is kind of a nice
now will it be late twenty twenty five app, you'll
have a download nap and do this. But Apple is
just in the wallet app, so you literally just go
on tap new as if you were adding a credit card.

(01:55):
You put your phone over top of the passport and
it just does its thing. It's very easy.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Okay, So just to be totally clear, you get your
passport out, you open it a photo page.

Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yep, you take a photo of it. It scans the details.
Then you set your phone on your passport and it
reads the CHIPEP and it sort of vibrates. I think
it reads it maybe five times or so to make
sure it gets the data right, and then it's done right.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
That's it. And so in the US, of course, you
have to if you're traveling domestically within the US, you
have to show a photo ID, which is not something
you have to do in New Zealand. And that's where
this will be used for the time being. Right, they're
not using this for international flights, No they not.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
I mean, wouldn't that be great You jump off the
plane and you can just tap your phone.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Surely it won't be long, right, this is my point.
It's not going to be that long, is it.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Well, I mean, okay, So not to get into the
nitty gritty details, but there are some things. A vehicle
trust is trusted traveler programs where effectively you pay money
and you can become sort of pre vetted. And so
when I arrive into the country, now, because I do
this program, I don't even stop. I walk into the
special it's called Global Entry Line, and it scans my

(03:04):
face and I don't even have to go up to
a machine. I just walk straight through. The officer at
the end says my name to verify it, and I
walk through and I'm done. Like that's passport control.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Now.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
It's pretty good. Yeah, that is pretty good, especially by
American standards, because yeah, it can be an absolutely varnish
arriving in the US sometimes. Now New Zealanders are getting
a new chat GPT feature.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah, so we're talking about putting your passport on your
phone in New Zealanders can't get that right now, but
you can, unlike Americans, start a group chat with chat GPT,
so you can invite up to twenty people to a
group chat. And apparently chat GPT kind of just lurks.

(03:45):
Maybe you'd say it's in the group chat. It doesn't
necessarily respond to every message, but it'll just listen and look,
and when it thinks it has something to add, it'll
chime in just like it's one of your friends. Or
you can summon it and say, hey, chet GPT, can
you know do this thing for us, so that seeing

(04:07):
if I guess people want to be collaborative. It's only
in four countries. New Zealand is one of those. It's
available on every plan. So if you've got even just
chat GPT for free or you're paying for it, it's
there and you can invite your friends and you can
try it, okay to do what. I don't know, what
do you use it for?

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Well, I suppose like I think about how I use
my whattap group chats. Right, We've got a family chat,
and then the kids in my family have a chat,
and then I've got various friend groups who have chats.
I've got work groups too have chats. And if chat
GPT was in there and you didn't have to go out,
you know, you could just say like, oh, you know,
if you try to coordinate a holiday, when are the

(04:47):
holiday dates for term three next year?

Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (04:51):
I suppose I pose something like that could be convenient,
but yeah, just so.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
Old fashioned that I'm just like, I'd just go and
ask CHATDVT myself and copy and paste.

Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (04:59):
So maybe.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
Five minutes telling us how you've loaded your passport up
to your phone and speaking of your iPhone, knowing how
fashion forward you are, no doubt you will be shelling
out what is it, one hundred and fifty US dollars
for the brand new iPhone pocket. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (05:17):
I don't know that this will be me. This is
I'm the same person Jack who thought that when everyone
started talking about la boo boos that they were it
was just like a cute way to refer to your
Christian lubatons.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Oh okay, no idea that people are gonna know what
Christian lubatons are Paul you and I of course know
they're very expensive shoes.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
Don't you read the Red Bottoms fashion. It's one of
the few things I know. Yeah, I assume everybody knows it.
But so they became this la Boo boos became this
crazy thing where people are spending stupid amounts of money
on these weird little toys and attention them to bags
and apparently it's a status symbol. I'll never understand it,
and I think there's people who think that maybe this
iPhone pocket is going to be the next Laboo bo

(05:59):
You know, it's only available in very select Apple stores.
They are crazy bright colors and Jack, I'm trying to
work out how to describe it because it's sort of
like just putting your phone into a sock, yes, and
then the sock sort of comes up like supermarket bags,
and then rejoins at the top, so there's like a
loop kind of in the middle, a space in the middle.

(06:21):
So then you can take your phone and do one
of those fancy little flick it through kind of ties
onto your bag. Yeah, yeah, or you can you know,
you can even spend two hundred and thirty.

Speaker 2 (06:32):
Years Oh my God.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
And you can and you can get it as a
crossbody how about that?

Speaker 2 (06:36):
How can they just like, how can they.

Speaker 3 (06:39):
Off your handbag or across your body in me on yellow?

Speaker 1 (06:46):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (06:47):
I just couldn't. I couldn't do it, especially at that price.
My goodness, hey.

Speaker 3 (06:51):
Thank you for it though. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
See I mean that there is the there's the con
doesn't it? Three D knitted? What does that even means?
For goodness sake, Thank you so much, Paul. Yeah, we'll
make sure we put a photo of the new iPhone
pocket up on the website as well, so you can
see what your one hundred and fifty US dollars will
give you about three hundred New Zealand dollars. No thank
you from me.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.