Worldcoin: Sam Altman’s Crypto Tool for Technocracy?

by Stavroula Pabst | Unlimited Hangout

“No one told me what they’ll do with my eye…I did this out of need.”

Olga de León, Buenos Aires Resident, to Rest of World

Want $50 worth of cryptocurrency? Scan your irises with one of Worldcoin’s orbs and it’s yours. Such is Worldcoin’s (rather odd) elevator pitch to the public, which has subsequently rolled out its iris-scanning orbs to 38 countries worldwide.

Worldcoin Orbs (Wikimedia)

Launched in mid-2023 and described by founder Sam Altman upon launch as “a global financial and identity network based on proof of personhood,” Worldcoin has made a big splash in its efforts to grow an identity and finance network using the unique, orb-based iris scans of every individual on Earth.

Some are excited by the project, many fear it. Debatable optics of using an orb (often stylized in Worldcoin’s communications as “the Orb”) as a project centerpiece aside, Worldcoin’s orb-based iris scans have been suspended in several countries, including Spain, Kenya, and Portugal due to mounting privacy concerns and the organization’s sketchy business practices. But, as Rest of World reports, the scans have recently become popular in Argentina, where pervasive economic crises and record inflation rates have made many hungry for instant cash: in January 2024, Worldcoin boasted it had scanned the irises of about one percent of Argentines.

Amongst the tech world’s most ambitious projects today, Worldcoin is positioning itself as a one-stop shop for identity, finance, and Universal Basic Income (UBI) infrastructure that is poised to undermine, if not subvert, traditional financial systems and governance structures internationally — all in response to problems attributed to the growth of the AI industry, which is arguably led by Altman’s own OpenAI.

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

i’m hopeful worldcoin can contribute to conversations about how we share access, benefits, and governance of future AI systems.

— Sam Altman (@sama) July 24, 2023

Some are excited by the project, many fear it. Debatable optics of using an orb (often stylized in Worldcoin’s communications as “the Orb”) as a project centerpiece aside, Worldcoin’s orb-based iris scans have been suspended in several countries, including Spain, Kenya, and Portugal due to mounting privacy concerns and the organization’s sketchy business practices. But, as Rest of World reports, the scans have recently become popular in Argentina, where pervasive economic crises and record inflation rates have made many hungry for instant cash: in January 2024, Worldcoin boasted it had scanned the irises of about one percent of Argentines. Read Full Article >