Hundreds sign up to ponder OpenAI founder's eye-scanning crypto orb despite data concerns
All hail the orb, crypto-fuelled hoarder of biometric data. Such is the will of OpenAI's Sam Altman, with his Worldcoin cryptocurrency-adjacent iris scanning project. A project that is under scrutiny from government officials.
Yes, Worldcoin is now scanning the irises of humans world over. The purpose? To connect (and collect the data of) would-be crypto investors, so that they can be inducted into the totally anonymous crypto-bro ingroup that Worldcoin is offering. As well as provide a platform for «global proof‑of‑personhood» in a world consumed ever more by AI.
Which doesn't sound anything close to a Torment Nexus moment.
«World ID is a new privacy-first decentralized identity protocol», the site notes. «It enables seamless sign in to websites, mobile apps and crypto dapps, while proving you’re a unique and real person without sharing personal data like names, emails, etc.»
Worldcoin is offering $50 in crypto to get your iris scanned at Orb popups appearing in stores all over the world. Along with it, the promise of an anonymized world identity ID. And hundreds of people are lining up to do so, despite immediate reservations one might have over the irony of collecting personal data to keep your personal data safe.
The company is also offering commission to «Orb Operators» for every time they «get people excited about starting their crypto journey», and scan an iris into the totally-forever-secure database.
There are «2,198,745 unique humans on Worldcoin» right now, and growing, which speaks to the popularity of the endeavour. Though, as you might have expected, it's not going unnoticed by the law.
Meanwhile, Germany has been investigating Worldcoin's antics. The country's Bavarian State Office for Data Protection
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