OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has launched Worldcoin, a crypto coin that rewards users with digital coins after scanning their eyeballs. On the project’s official launch day, thousands of people lined up at various locations worldwide, eagerly waiting to gaze into silver orbs and get free crypto tokens. Once a person has been scanned, they’ll receive 25 free Worldcoin tokens which are currently valued at around $2 (£1.56) each.
Altman says his aspiration with this initiative is to distinguish between humans and robots. “Worldcoin could drastically increase economic opportunity, scale a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while preserving privacy,” said Altman.
This new initiative also claims that its system has the potential to establish an “AI-funded” universal basic income, but the specific plan for achieving this goal remains unclear. The concept of a universal basic income involves providing all citizens with a fixed salary, irrespective of their financial circumstances.
like any really ambitious project, maybe it works out and maybe it doesn’t, but trying stuff like this is how progress happens.
— Sam Altman (@sama) July 24, 2023
in either case, we especially love our haters, it gives us energy, please keep it coming!
Prove you are human!
The initial phase of this crypto utopia hinges on convincing millions, or even billions of individuals to undergo iris scanning as a means of verifying their human identity. “After visiting an Orb, a biometric verification device, you will receive a World ID. This lets you prove you are a real and unique person online while remaining completely private,” the website states.
Over the past two years, as the testing of scanners commenced, Worldcoin reports that over two million individuals from 33 different countries have been added to their crypto database. The company adds that most signups came from Europe, India and southern Africa. Although the company is based in the US, the crypto coins are not available to US citizens due to regulatory concerns.
Privacy experts are concerned that sensitive data obtained from iris scanning could potentially fall into the wrong hands, even though the company insists it does not store any data. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey also made a tweet describing Worldcoin as ‘cute’, followed by a dystopian warning which states, “Visit the Orb or the Orb will visit you…”.
visit the Orb or the Orb will visit you… https://t.co/VbsX3KcKds
— jack (@jack) July 24, 2023
Altman on the other hand, welcomed criticism by tweeting, “We especially love our haters, it gives us energy, please keep it coming!
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
