Fintech developer and investor Michael Zetser explains that an ambitious project like Worldcoin can help address numerous problems correctly. And it seems like the brainchild project by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is making a splash by launching eye-scanning orbs worldwide.
Tools for Humanity is a fintech company and cryptocurrency startup to show demonstrations of the eye-scanning orbs at the Alexa shopping center in Berlin. Shoppers can volunteer an image of their iris, which isn’t stored according to the company. In return, they’ll receive 50 euros worth of Worldcoin tokens to spend. Worldcoin is the cryptocurrency token connected to the Tools for Humanity project. Ever since they launched the project worldwide, the company has received iris scans from about 2.1 million people.
Tools For Humanity Aims to Develop Unique IDs for Everyone
According to Tools For Humanity, biometric data is used to develop a unique ID for every person who gets their retina scanned. Micahel Zetser entrepreneur, expects that once this system gains widespread adoption, social media platforms will be able to tell the difference between human users and bots.
The project based in San Francisco and Berlin made its ‘world-changing’ launch in July in New York. It made headlines for offering a verified identity solution, which it calls ‘proof of personhood.’ The purpose is to help people prove that they’re human in a world increasingly becoming dominated by AI – thus making it difficult to tell if the entity behind an online interaction is human.
The founders have said that it distinguishes between a person and AI while ensuring privacy at the same time. And if it goes according to the plans of Sam Altman and partner Alex Blania, the orbs will be able to scan the irises of the entire population – eight billion people.
The Potential of Providing Universal Basic Income
Sam Altman and Alex Blania have suggested ideas beyond using the orbs to distinguish between humans and robots. It can help distribute a universal basic income, provided via Worldcoin. They previously stated that profits made using AI could be redistributed within society.
Michael Zetser explains that the Worldcoin project allows everyone to be economically reachable through a decentralized database. That means everyone, not just people based in Europe or the United States, will have a digital identity they can use to receive income.
The idea is that anyone who uses the AI-powered ID system will be able to receive universal basic income in the future. However, it’s currently unclear as to how the system will be able to fund the payment. That said, critics believe that Sam Altman’s vision depicts blind optimism. Calling them moneymaking ventures, critics are accusing leaders in the AI space of profiting in a period of uncertainty. Here, they refer to the fact that although the project is designed to reduce the adverse effects of AI, companies like OpenAI continue to develop their technologies.
German Office For Data Protection Supervision Investigates Worldcoin
Despite the romantic view of the project, Worldcoin hasn’t made quite an impression on German authorities either. By the end of July, Bavaria’s State Office for Data Protection Supervision announced that it started an investigation on Worldcoin in 2022 over concerns about the firm processing its biometric data.
In a statement, the State Office for Data Protection Supervision president explained how the company draws suspicious over its claims. A simple overview of these technologies shows they’re not established for processing or transferring financial information.
And it’s not just German regulators that seem suspicious about the project. The leading privacy laws regulator in France stated that Worldcoin is somewhat questionable. In Kenya, the government has ordered a suspension of all Worldcoin activities. At the same time, it determines the protection and safety of harvested data and how harvesters plan to use the data.
Journalists Call Incentive To Sign Up ‘Deceptive’
Michael Zetser, who reviewed the sentiment surrounding the launch of Worldcoin, found that journalists have accused it of using deceptive marketing techniques. The company has used these methods to gather data from people based in the Global South. It offers Worldcoin worth a certain amount in fiat currency as an incentive that encourages people to sign up.
He points out that the token doesn’t have any actual use case and, for the most part, is just a speculative tool. So, it’s only banking on the potential success of the Worldcoin project. So, despite the claims the founders have made, Michael Zetser is still skeptical about whether people should be so quick to trust it and give their biometric data – all for some cryptocurrency with no use case.
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