{"id":20221,"date":"2023-07-24T22:50:03","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T22:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/nft\/worldcoins-orb-wants-to-scan-our-eyes-should-we-let-it\/"},"modified":"2023-07-24T22:50:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T22:50:08","slug":"worldcoins-orb-wants-to-scan-our-eyes-should-we-let-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/nft\/worldcoins-orb-wants-to-scan-our-eyes-should-we-let-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Worldcoin’s “Orb” Wants to Scan Our Eyes. Should We Let It?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sam Altman\u2019s ambitious attempt to create a blockchain-based global verification system that proves personhood via an eyeball-scanning \u201corb\u201d just came to life. On July 24, the OpenAI CEO announced the launch of the Worldcoin protocol and the WLD token \u2014 its native currency \u2014 after years in development. <\/p>\n

Worldcoin wants to be our \u201cdigital passport\u201d into a new world where our human identity can never be questioned or confused with an AI. Perhaps even more ambitious, Altman claims that Worldcoin could eventually pave the way for AI-funded universal basic income \u2014 all while \u201cpreserving privacy.\u201d <\/p>\n

Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, and LinkedIn\u2019s Reid Hoffman, the startup has already raised close to $250 million as it begins to roll out its new global initiative. Prior to Monday\u2019s debut, the company has already experienced a significant wave of interest, with over two million users participating in its beta version.<\/p>\n

However, the venture has also drawn concerns and criticisms from many notable figures in the technology space, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.<\/p>\n

The launch has many at rapt attention as they consider the financial opportunities, privacy concerns, and everything in between.<\/p>\n

The \u201corb\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The first step to participating in Worldcoin is scheduling a scan with the orb. Worldcoin\u2019s orb is a biometric verification device that looks like it came directly out of the 2008 AI thriller film Eagle Eye<\/em>. The device, which is roughly the size of a bowling ball, is essentially a digital litmus test for proving that someone is human. <\/p>\n

Those eager to prove their humanity can visit one of the 150 currently operational orbs. However, 1,500 orbs will reportedly be available across 35 cities across five continents by the end of 2023. <\/p>\n

Post-scan, users are given a uniquely generated World ID \u2014 a \u201cdigital passport\u201d stored on their mobile device that proves the user is not an AI bot but, in fact, a living, breathing human being. <\/p>\n

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Leading this initiative is Alex Blania, a former Ph.D. student in theoretical physics who now serves as the CEO of Tools for Humanity, Worldcoin\u2019s parent company that operates out of San Francisco and Berlin. Tools for Humanity developed a software development kit (SDK) where other third-party apps could use an individual\u2019s World ID (once generated) in lieu of having to enter other login credentials like emails and passwords.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blania told Fortune<\/em> <\/em>that he hopes to have two billion users by the end of 2023, with Worldcoin\u2019s token launch driving more sign-ups in new markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WLD, Worldcoin\u2019s native token, witnessed a surge during Monday\u2019s launch, with the token\u2019s price soaring from an initial $0.15 to a notable high of $5.29 on Binance. It eventually settled around $2.49. Worldcoin, however, is not launching its token directly on exchanges like Coinbase or UniSwap, but instead, is airdropping it directly to users.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Benefits of Worldcoin<\/h2>\n

As digital identity is arguably today\u2019s most valuable asset, the growing utilization of AI in the everyday workforce has forced us to look for ways to protect ourselves from the strong likelihood of confusion when there\u2019s an AI involved. We are now far beyond the simple \u201cimage captcha\u201d tasks, and Woldcoin offers a unique solution. The dire need for us to prove \u201cpersonhood\u201d comes at the most crucial time, with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA\/WGA writers strike and the growing concern as questions surrounding job security and authorship continue to unravel. <\/p>\n

Right now, the ability to detect whether a human is involved or if it\u2019s an AI program controlling is becoming more difficult. While the U.S. has been relatively slow in its ability to come to a consensus on a basic, fundamental regulatory framework governing ethical AI usage, other countries, including the EU, have been hard at work in pushing out their proposals for their respective frameworks. <\/p>\n

Worldcoin also offers the potential for a universal basic income \u2014 eventually. Altman says that Worldcoin\u2019s overarching goal is to eventually onboard every individual across the globe into a \u201cfinancial distribution model\u201d where its native currency, WLD, could become a \u201ccentral form of currency\u201d and be distributed through \u201cuniversal basic income\u201d (UBI) programs. <\/p>\n

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the goal is simple: a global financial and identity network based on proof of personhood. this feels especially important in the AI era.<\/p>\n

i’m hopeful worldcoin can contribute to conversations about how we share access, benefits, and governance of future AI systems.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sam Altman (@sama) July 24, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

With AI unavoidable and now at the center of every conversation, Altman believes that UBI could serve as \u201ca buffer against rising income disparities,\u201d with World IDs acting as a check against fraudulent claims. <\/p>\n

However, he also admits that this UBI-centric world is still very distant, and the mechanics of its implementation remains unclear.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could imagine a system like Worldcoin being used for global UBI at some point. We have a lot of progress to make and economic growth to achieve before we can do that, but someday\u201d Alman shared at Worldcoin\u2019s Seoul event. Still, he believes that experiments like Worldcoin are \u201ccrucial\u201d to initiate now in order to \u201cchart the way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Concerns and cautionary tales<\/h2>\n

While some see the value in Worldcoin, others believe we should proceed with caution. <\/p>\n

Even before the July 24 launch, some had concerns about the project surrounding privacy and the potential for abuse. A 2022 investigative study published in MIT Technology Review<\/em> revealed that the company representatives supposedly \u201cused deceptive marketing practices\u201d in collecting more personal data than it was willing to admit and \u201cfailed to obtain meaningful informed consent\u201d that triggered potential violations of local laws and Europe\u2019s global privacy framework GDPR.<\/p>\n

In Worldcoin\u2019s most recent FAQ, the company emphasizes privacy, noting that it will never share or sell any personal data (including biometric data) with anyone outside the project. Further, images taken by the orb are deleted once the \u201ciris code\u201d is created (unless the user opts into Data Custody). The company also points out that they are fully compliant with GDPR. <\/p>\n

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How do you all feel about the #Worldcoin<\/a> initiative?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite early to tell, but I do have my concerns. We get to have many digital identities throw out our lifetime \u2013 but so far, we only get one body. <\/p>\n

Harvesting the most unique, no-transferable non-fungible assets on the\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/EIuOZAArYk<\/p>\n

\u2014 Marjorie Hernandez (@MRJRHDZ) July 24, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Despite these reassurances, many across Web3 expressed doubts surrounding Worldcoin, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. In a July 24 blog post titled \u201cWhat do I think about biometric proof of personhood?,\u201d <\/em>he <\/em>expressed major concerns surrounding Worldcoin\u2019s \u201cProof of Personhood\u201d system that directly impacts privacy, accessibility, centralization, and security. <\/p>\n

He noted that scanning an individual\u2019s iris could potentially release more information than intended (at least on the user\u2019s side). Additionally, he argued that World IDs wouldn\u2019t be readily accessible to everyone, given the difficulty in currently obtaining an \u201corb\u201d device. Speaking next to the orb as a hardware device, Buterin says, \u201cWe have no way to verify that it was constructed correctly and does not have backdoors,\u201d teasing at the possibility that malicious manufacturers could create many bogus human identities. <\/p>\n

Lastly, with the possibility of a user\u2019s smartphone being hacked, the possibility of an individual being coerced into giving out their iris scans presents a major security concern. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no ideal form of proof of personhood,\u201d Buterin wrote, adding that \u201c[i]nstead, we have at least three different paradigms of approaches that all have their own unique strengths and weaknesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global identity verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As innovative as Worldcoin may appear, it\u2019s never a good idea to \u201cscan first ask questions later.\u201d Anyone wanting to participate in the new protocol should do their own research before taking the dive into getting their digital passport. While certainly bold, it\u2019s yet to be proven how valuable or safe Worldcoin\u2019s global endeavor actually is.<\/p>\n

Still, Blania and his team of engineers believe that Worldcoin\u2019s protocol of iris scans is the only universal way to create a global identity verification system, with the token serving as an incentive mechanism to acquire users.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about the questions of how society will distribute access to AGI systems, the benefits of them, governance, how we\u2019re going to differentiate between what is done by people and what is generated by machines,\u201d Altman shared. \u201cWe don\u2019t have answers to any of this yet. But if something like Worldcoin can work, I think that\u2019s a quite interesting new tool to have.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n