Worldcoin: People Are Lining Up For Eyeball Scans But Can OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Project Really Be Successful

Worldcoin has received significant attention in the last few days after its launch in India on July 24.

There were large lines of people gathered to register on the Worldcoin network. After all, the project would pay people to get their iris scanned.

The Worldcoin project was launched by Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, which recently gained popularity for its high-level generative artificial intelligence.

The project was ideated in 2019 as a means to differentiate humans from AI bots in the future. The usual checks like a captcha might not be adequate anymore against an advanced AI bot. As a result, humans would have to find a different way to differentiate themselves from bots.

To help in this differentiation, Worldcoin proposes that humans scan their iris in exchange for a numerical code. For this purpose, it uses a device called an orb, which scans a person’s iris and gives a World ID. A human can then use this unique World ID to identify himself as a human, not a bot.

In order to incentivize users to join the network, 25 Worldcoin Tokens (WLD) are being offered in exchange for a retina scan.

Unlike other assets, tokens derive value from their supply and demand scenario.

The expectation is that a larger number of people will use Worldcoin. So far, there are no immediate applications, and the project is still gathering iris data. However, in the last two years, it has already raised $ 215 million in funding from marquee venture capital firms.

While the idea is certainly intriguing, several short-term problems could hinder its long-term vision.

Privacy, or rather the lack of it and the growth of cryptocurrency, have attained centre stage in the minds of policymakers in the last several years. Worldcoin involves both of these factors together.

While it does say that the eye scan is deleted immediately after the ID is generated, there is no way one can verify the truth behind the statement. And even if Worldcoin is completely honest, miscreants may find ways to access the data.

According to reports, hackers have already attempted to steal passwords using malware. At the same time, the lack of control has meant that miscreants have successfully gained the system.

In India, some people have alleged that “middlemen” have been bringing uneducated people to whom they pay a small amount for the money while pocketing the actual 25 WLD that Worldcoin pays. The tokens are immediately sold off on the market. As a result, people who have little to no idea about privacy concerns are lining up just for the lure of quick money.

Unsurprisingly, some of Worldcoin’s centres closed down in several Indian cities, according to social media users.

The Kenyan Government has initiated a temporary ban on the Worldcoin project, and there have been reports of World IDs from other countries being sold to the Chinese.

Other governments are also looking at Worldcoin’s activities closely. Worldcoin has also claimed that it would drive financial inclusion through the coin, even for people without government IDs. However, it is unlikely that the underprivileged would even know about World ID, let alone go to an operator to get their retinas scanned.

The team later indicated that they wouldn’t be the ones paying out any money but would instead allow the government to use their data to pay out Universal Basic Income or support other welfare schemes – something India already does through its Aadhar Linked Welfare Schemes.

While Worldcoin does appear to be targeting a serious and futuristic problem, it faces several short-term hurdles.

The first barrier is governments themselves, who will almost certainly object to a private entity collecting large unique data sets from private citizens.

Further, Worldcoin might not have a great use case and is probably being sold off immediately by many users. If the price keeps falling lower, as is the current trend, Worldcoin would probably have to keep giving out more tokens to keep the fiat value at the same level, increasing token supply – though the maximum is capped at 143 million tokens.

The price of World Coin indicates that the markets aren’t too bullish on the coin currently.