Posted on 08/15/2023 7:41:54 AM PDT by Twotone
Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of officials around the world. Kenya’s government has gone so far as to shut down the service.
The international ID company, backed by big investors in Silicon Valley’s technology industry, now has to defend itself in investigations. The central question is whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is secure or not.
What is Worldcoin?
Worldcoin is the creation of Sam Altman. He is best known as the head of OpenAI, the maker of the artificial intelligence program ChatGPT.
The goal of Worldcoin and the company backing it, Tools for Humanity, is to give people a form of identification that could never be stolen or copied. Worldcoin creates a “World ID”, an identification tool, by scanning someone’s eyes through “orbs.” These are special devices that capture images of the irises, the colored parts of the eyes.
One possible use for such an ID tool would be online services. Such services require that people remember passwords and usernames for websites they have signed up for.
The security of those sites can have problems, however. There have been several security issues where usernames and passwords have been stolen. Instead of using old technology like passwords, people could just sign up using their World ID.
What is its connection to crypto?
Worldcoin is an identification project. But it is also using cryptocurrency to get people to sign up. The Worldcoin token is trading for roughly $1.90. However, its value is largely based on expectations rather than its usability as a form of money.
Worldcoin launched officially in July. As part of the event, early users were given an amount of cryptocurrency worth between $50 and $60. Most of the countries where Worldcoin launched do not widely use or accept crypto.
Further, $50 is a lot of money in developing countries where people are being asked to sign up, including Kenya, where the average monthly wage is around $170.
Why is Worldcoin getting attention?
Thousands of Kenyans lined up in Nairobi in early August at a center where Worldcoin took images of their irises in exchange for 25 coins worth about $50.
The lines included mothers with children on their backs. Some of those in line told local media that they had traveled from a distance after friends said “free money” was being handed out. They admitted not knowing why they needed to scan their irises and where that information would go.
Others who waited for hours included college-educated Kenyans. Many are unemployed and angry over the rising cost of living.
The Kenyan government has since suspended new sign-ups for Worldcoin as it investigates whether people’s information is being properly protected.
What are the privacy concerns?
Worldcoin’s orbs collect data by taking images of a person’s iris. While Worldcoin argues that the data is used to create a special, secure form of identification, privacy experts have concerns that the company may use the information in other ways, like personalized marketing.
That has led some countries to investigate Worldcoin’s operations, including France, Germany and now Kenya.
Privacy experts are worried that Worldcoin could, in time, be a victim to criminals, similar to data thefts at other large companies. Privacy experts have said biometric data is already being sold in places like China and that could spread to other places.
Last week, Worldcoin discussed the privacy concerns on its website. The company wrote everything is available as a choice and no personal data “is disclosed by default, enabling each holder to decide which (if any) personal data to share with third parties when using World ID.”
Never use ANY of these things unless they are provably client side encrypted. Since biometrics can’t be, I’d really try to avoid any service that requires them.
“The company wrote everything is available as a choice and no personal data “is disclosed by default, enabling each holder to decide which (if any) personal data to share with third parties when using World ID.””
That policy could change, it could be thwarted by law enforcement, and the data could be stolen. Kenya is right to be concerned.
“The goal of Worldcoin and the company backing it, Tools for Humanity...”
Anyone who names their company such a sanctimonious name probably only has evil intentions.
Is this coin a Ponzi Scheme or Pyramid Scheme or both ?
So, the same guy that developed OpenAI is now behind WorldCoin. I can see Worldcoin (or whatever is the world wide digital currency) being run by AI someday.
Doom.
I don’t think that this is it but I expect that the New World Order (Daniel 7:23) will have a Global Digital Currency
It would be an excellent precursor to the Mark of the Antichrist Beast / False Prophet economic system
(lurkers please click on my screenname to see my FR homepage for more information)
🛐🙏✝️
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/QFFDI3FRDJEHFIMCXZWSNRIY5E.jpg)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.