Tony Allen is busy organizing the Global Age Assurance Standards Summit, coming to Manchester from April 12-14, 2026. But he took some time to give the Biometric Update Podcast a preview of some festival highlights, as well as his thoughts on how age assurance legislation is unfolding in Australia and the UK -- and, on chairs.

In a contribution to The Trust Files, presented by Velvet and Biometric Update, Venkatesh argues credentials are just one piece in the larger continuous trust machine. He explains the urgency of the situation and the other pieces of the system needed to scale AI safely.

Conversations from on the ground at MOSIP Connect 2026 in Rabat, Morocco. Biometric Update Managing Editor Chris Burt talks digital identity, inclusion, interoperability and biometrics with Andrew Musoke of CMU Africa and Digvijay Kanwar of Next Biometrics.

The agent economy is replacing the digital economy the world is still adjusting to, Ping Identity Group Product Manager Adam Rusbridge says in the new episode of The Trust Files, from Velvet and Biometric Update.

But unauthenticated AI agents represent a trust gap in this new three-actor system, according to Rusbridge. He suggests the paradigm shift requires a universal trust layer to enable visibility and governance, which fortunately can be achieved by extending zero-trust identity foundations. It is an evolution, he says, not a revolution.

Jay Meier of FaceTec wants you to know that not all liveness detection is of the same pedigree. Testing is critical, so relying parties can know who to trust. Universal Wallet Infrastructure (UWI) is set to change the game for interoperability. And the VC guys? Maybe we don't need them in ten years, when biometrics and liveness do everything. A lively conversation between FaceTec's Chief Identity Technology Strategist and Biometric Update Managing Editor Chris Burt.

The status quo, with personal data as the default currency for value exchange, underpins the free online services that are central to the way most people experience the internet.

Empowering consumers may benefit businesses more than commonly thought, however, MyTerms Co-founder Kari McMullen suggests in the new episode of the Trust Files, from Velvet and Biometric Update.

OpenAge, the reusable age assurance system based on passkeys, launched in November of last year. Since then, it has garnered support from all sides of the debate, from Meta to the adult content industry to children's rights campaigners. In this episode, Julian Corbett, head of the OpenAge Initiative, explains how it spun out from compliance provider k-ID.

The latest market forecast from Goode Intelligence focuses on biometric physical access control systems. Chief Analyst Alan Goode talks modalities, technological innovation and market opportunities with the Biometric Update Podcast.