OpenAI CEO had announced the launch of the Worldcoin project after migrating to the OP Mainnet, formerly known as the Optimism layer-2 blockchain. The project was founded by Sam Altman, Alex Blania, and Max Novendstern. It aspires to grant its users a digital identity and access to a financial network. The project intends to issue a private identity in person to the users after scanning their eyes using an imaging device to identify that they are real and unique persons as opposed to AI. Thus, the project offers to authenticate its users without storing their data in a centralized reserve while removing bots from the system and allowing real-life persons only. This is an attempt to resolve the recent issue of artificial intelligence which makes it almost impossible to distinguish genuine works from AI-generated ones.

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Alongside its mission to issue World ID, the company released its cryptocurrency which is already transactional in certain locations. The WLD Token was launched alongside the World app that leverages Ethereum protocols to enable payment, purchases, and transfers using Worldcoin, digital assets, and traditional currencies. Having spent three years developing this project, the company’s website reads as follows:
“We believe Worldcoin could drastically increase economic opportunity, scale a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while preserving privacy, enable global democratic processes, and eventually show a potential path to AI-funded UBI.”
The worldcoin project intends to release about 1500 orbs in some areas, 35 cities across 20 countries, across the world to begin its mission to register millions according to its website.
Buterin, Ethereum cofounder shares his concern in a blog post:
Vitalik Buterin shared his concerns over Worldcoin, the new crypto and identity project of OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman. In putting forth his concerns, Buterin explored Worldcoin’s authentication process referred to as Proof of Personhood.

How much information is enough?
According to the Ethereum co-founder, the simple process of scanning one’s iris runs the chance of releasing to the project more information than the individual would ordinarily want to share. Noting that there is no guarantee to the limit of information that would be collected by the scanning ‘orbs’ based on sensitivity, national security, or merely the willingness of a user to give up data. For instance, it could expose someone’s sex, ethnicity, certain medical conditions, or their top security passcodes. It is rather safe to assume that not all persons would be encouraged to register unless there is a way to ensure the level of information the project can have access to.
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‘Floating orbs” are not candy:
It would be difficult to make the scanning devices accessible to all persons as the process, not just the orbs themselves is expensive. Vitalik emphasizes that the orbs are hardware devices, that there is no way to affirm their construction, and that they could have a back door to allow fake human identities.
However, Vitalik acknowledged the innovative project and noted that there was no complete solution to the arising issues. He said, “Instead, we have at least three different paradigms of approaches that all have their unique strengths and weaknesses.”
Commenting on the technology, he said “It does seem like specialized hardware systems can do quite a decent job of protecting privacy,”.

Regulatory uncertainty
According to the Financial Times, the Worldcoin cryptocurrency is not available in the US. There would be a plethora of cases and regulatory implications, nonetheless, in an attempt to manage the growing concerns.

UK to study the privacy regulatory implications of the project amid token launch:
Despite having the orbs active and available in three locations in London, the Information Commissioner’s Office calls attention to the biometric data to be collected by the project. ICO is a British regulator that oversees the data privacy of individuals and warned that activities need to be consensual to the extent that the users would want. Highlighting that ICO is an impactful body that can administer fines of up to £17.5m
($22.5m) or 4% of a company’s global turnover depending on which is higher.
The project has had a fair share of critics with some labeling it as over-ambitious. Aside from the privacy concerns, there have been suspicions that the company’s incentive to give free cryptocurrency is a form of
bribery. However, Sam Altman is optimistic and revealed that the project had welcomed various supports and “trying stuff like this is how progress happens,”, he says.

Written by Nwogu Ihuoma

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