The crypto project Worldcoin, co-founded by OpenAI boss Sam Altman, launched its global identification system “World ID” in Germany on Thursday.
People should have their eyes scanned in order to prove conclusively that they are humans – and not software robots (bots) in times of artificial intelligence on the internet.
Worldcoin promises that you can use the World ID in everyday life for many things you sign online. And you can use it to log into online services just as you do today with an Apple or Google login.
In the coming weeks and months, Worldcoin will install the German-developed iris scanner “Orb” in many locations in Germany, for example at universities or in front of supermarkets. Anyone who gets scanned there will receive a certain amount of money in the specially created cryptocurrency Worldcoin as an incentive. It is based on the blockchain of the popular cryptocurrency Ether.
Stated goal: 1 billion registered users.
The company promises that users’ biometric data will only be stored in encrypted form.
Privacy advocates warn however, consumers regularly avoid having their biometric data, such as fingerprints or iris scans, registered and deposited with non-governmental institutions.
According to the MIT Technology Review, Worldcoin allegedly recruited its first half million users, mostly in emerging countries, using questionable methods. Representatives of the start-up lured and duped poor people with promises of wealth to get their biometrics. And: Worldcoin may have violated applicable data protection laws.
In addition, the crypto market has been under considerable pressure since the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November. Worldcoin ensures that the technology is used within the framework of national and European data protection laws.
The investors in Altman’s project are reportedly venture capitalist Khosla Ventures and the crypto venture division of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). According to a report in the Financial Times, the financing round has raised $100 million.
The “Handelzeitung” reported in early 2022 that the Berlin-based company Worldcoin had set up a foundation in Zug, the “Worldcoin Foundation”. The foundation will enable the further development of Worldcoin’s technology and ecosystem around the cryptocurrency.
Altman told Wired magazine in 2021 that Worldcoin could “show the world a new way to think about universal basic income.”
The news magazine “Mirror” noted:
(dsc/sda/awp/dpa)
Source: Watson
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
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