Scanning your iris to become a “verified human” in exchange for digital currency sounds like a Black Mirror episode. But this is not the story arc of a dystopian science fiction show — it’s happening now with one of the latest projects in Web3.
The launch of Worldcoin on Optimism has left many wondering whether this project is subverting Web3’s promise of decentralization to build just the opposite. And yet, more than 2 million people in underserved areas have already signed up to share their biometric data with Worldcoin in exchange for 25 WLD, worth less than $100 at the time of writing.
This is not just strange — it also presents serious privacy risks and creates a honeypot for bad actors. More so, there’s an argument to be made that it could even interfere with the sovereignty of foreign countries.
Why would we need Worldcoin in the first place?
Worldcoin was founded to solve for the expected externalities of its sister company, OpenAI — the creator of ChatGPT and other popular AI products. One hand is solving the problems the other hand is creating.
2024: Bitcoiners trying to save the children from Sam Altman’s WorldCoin orb eye scans pic.twitter.com/ZeAWuNdSJs
— ₿it₿ry (@bchinella) July 26, 2023
In the words of its founders: “If successful, we believe Worldcoin could drastically increase economic opportunity, scale a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while preserving privacy, enable global democratic processes, and eventually show a potential path to AI-funded UBI [universal basic income].”
The problem with Worldcoin
Despite the ambition and promise to safeguard privacy, a whole new set of problems arises from the fact that this is being done by a single, currently centralized company. The irony is not lost on ChatGPT. Some of its answers when prompted “What are the risks in having one company own biometric data for individuals in underdeveloped countries?” include:
- Privacy violations
- Security breaches
- Surveillance and sovereignty
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has echoed some of these concerns as well.
Having one company own biometric data for individuals in underdeveloped countries poses significant risks for individuals. On a broader societal scale, these are even more significant when coupled with UBI payments to foreign citizens.
Privacy violations
Biometric data like irises is highly sensitive and unique to each individual. It can reveal information such as sex, ethnicity and, perhaps,…
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