2023-05-16 09:47:39
Artificial intelligence blurs our perception of what is human or not. Don’t panic, Sam Altman has the solution and it involves cryptos and biometrics.
We told you about it a year ago: Worldcoin, the strange crypto project of Sam Altman, boss of OpenAI, is coming to fruition. The entrepreneur, known for the success of ChatGPT, would be about to conclude a fundraising of 100 million dollars to carry out his project. Worldcoinheaded by a company called Tools for Humanity, has the ambition to prove that humans are indeed… human. Because you will not have missed it, the stunning performance of artificial intelligence, whether for the creation of images or texts, gives us more and more trouble. In other words: Sam Altman, one of the instigators of a technology blurring the barrier between human and robot, offers us a solution.
Give me your iris, I’ll give you cryptos
To do this, the entrepreneur wants to use biometric data, “the most effective way to prove that a person is unique”, can we read on the WorldCoin site. Its data will be collected thanks to “ The Orb “, sort of metallic globe allowing to scan the iris of a person (one of the most reliable biometric data, and whose collection would be the best accepted, according to WorldCoin always). In exchange for this iris scan, the user gets a sort of passport and a share of WorldCoin, the digital currency associated with the project.
Passport and crypto wallet are saved in World App, an application officially launched a few days ago in 80 countries. The goal is therefore to use this app as a means of identification on the Web, to carry out various transactions, to connect to certain sites… in order to prove that you are not a bot. 1.5 million people have already joined it in beta version, and more than 500,000 use it each month, specifies the company on its site.
The goal of Worldcoin is twofold: to verify identity and to democratize the use of cryptocurrencies, by promising its users a kind of universal salary obtained in digital assets. Some users may still receive via WorldApp, a monthly nest egg (called WorldCoin Grant). Few details are given on this subject, except that only a list of countries would be eligible.
An already controversial and insecure project
This nascent project is already controversial. In 2021, the MIT Technology Review reported in a long survey that WorldCoin had tested its “Orb” with 500,000 rather disadvantaged people in Sudan and Indonesia. All while promising them certain and future wealth, giving little information about their intentions, and “paying” them in AirPods and cash.
Moreover, TechCrunch revealed a few days ago that certain computers (at least 7 depending on the media) of the operators of The Orb (who are therefore responsible for recording people scanning their iris) have been victims of hacking. The hackers would have had full access to the Worldcoin Orb operator’s dashboard, which does not require any form of two- or multi-factor authentication according to TechCrunch.
Another disturbing point: among the first investors in this project, we find Sam Bankman-Fried, scammer and deposed boss of the FTX crypto-asset exchange platform, who fell in November 2022. Not really an encouraging signal for this company which intends to restore the situation. image of cryptos and promises a beneficial project for all of humanity, of course.
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