Worldcoin, a recently established blockchain company co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has unveiled its ambitious vision to expand its operations worldwide and grant external entities access to its groundbreaking Identity-verifying and Iris-scanning technology.
The company’s core mission revolves around creating a robust financial and identity network accessible to users across the globe. To achieve this, Worldcoin has raised a significant funding of USD 115 million from prominent venture capital investors, including a16z crypto, BlockchainCapital, Distributed Global, and Bain Capital Crypto, in May. Also, Worldcoin requires users to give their iris scans to get a digital ID and create a new “identity and financial network”.
Extending access to government and third parties
Ricardo Macieira, manager at Tools for Humanity—the Berlin and San Francisco-based company behind Worldcoin said “We are on this mission of building the biggest financial and identity community that we can.” He also stated that Worldcoin will be available in Africa, Latin America, Europe and any country open to the project.
On the website, Worldcoin mentioned the possible applications, including encouraging worldwide democratic processes, showing a possible path to universal fundamental income and differentiating humans from AI.
Mascieira said the company is looking to develop an infrastructure that will allow the government to generate universal fundamental income. The initiative is to build an infrastructure that will allow external bodies to have access to the technology. For instance, startups could pay Worldcoin to use its digital ID system so that normal activities go on without gathering personal information.
Additionally, Macieira stated that the technology backing the iris-scanning system will be open-source in the future. According to him, the plan is for anyone to be able to build their orb in the future and use it to benefit the community that it is aiming for.
Responding to privacy concerns
Despite the excitement surrounding Worldcoin’s innovative approach, privacy campaigners have expressed concerns about the potential misuse of biometric information. To be precise, approximately 2.2 million users have already signed up for Worldcoin’s services, raising questions about explicit consent and data control.
Privacy and regulatory advocates in France, Germany, and Britain have indicated that they will closely monitor the project’s developments. Also, Michael Will, the President of the Bavarian regulator, highlighted the need for a thorough investigation to ensure the maintenance of security of user data throughout the process.
In response to these concerns, Worldcoin has addressed the issue, asserting that it adheres to all relevant privacy regulations and follows strict data safety practices. The company maintains that user data is either securely stored or can be cleared upon user request, further ensuring data privacy.
Photo Credit: Worldcoin
