What is Sam Altman’s biometric project?

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Last Updated01/08/2023

Recently, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took to Twitter to formally re-introduce Worldcoin, a project of his that was eclipsed by the popularity of ChatGPT.

Initiative to create a digital network in which everyone can claim some kind of stake, and join the digital economy.
Using a device called “Orb,” Worldcoin volunteers known as ‘Orb operators’ scan a person’s iris pattern to collect their biometric data and help them get a World ID through the World app.
Worldcoin claims it is building the “world’s largest identity and financial public network” open to people worldwide.

The users need to be willing to scan irises and/or get their own irises scanned.
Volunteers sign up to be “Orb operators” in their locality and receive basic training and a biometric device with which to scan irises.
Orb operators can even rent out the Orb to others to let them scan eyeballs as well.
Those who have their irises scanned and collect a World ID can use this to claim the WLD crypto, which they may use for transactions or hold on to the asset in the hope that its price might rise, as it did after launching.
However, users can also buy or sell WLD without getting scanned or using the app.
In return for signing up more people to the Worldcoin network, Orb operators get WLD, which is a token based on the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum has a native coin, Ether, which is the second-largest crypto by market capitalisation.
However, anyone can create a token which runs on the Ethereum blockchain. WLD is one such cryptocurrency.

Worldcoin explained that it wanted to include everyone in its network and that using biometric information to avoid duplication was a valid method for this.
The company claimed that India had “proven the effectiveness of biometrics” through its Aadhaar system.
Worldcoin notes that Aadhaar IDs stopped people from signing up multiple times to benefit from social welfare schemes.
The company said that it uses a technology known as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to maintain users’ privacy.
Worldcoin has also said it is fully compliant with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Individuals who want to receive a World ID are not required to share their name, phone number, email address, or home address. Images collected by the Orb are used to generate a unique iris code.
By default these images are immediately deleted once the iris code is created, unless the user opts in to Data Custody.

Worldcoin was criticised long before its re-launch.
A whistleblower ointed out that even if a person’s biometric scans were deleted for privacy reasons — as Worldcoin said it would do — the unique identifier for the scan would match future scans of the same person’s eyes.

According to the company website, it has. Worldcoin lists 18 locations, largely in Delhi, Noida, and Bangalore, where Orb operators are scanning people’s eyes.
Some locations include popular malls and metro stations in these cities.

While the Worldcoin project’s ambition to create a secure digital identity system is commendable, it has also given rise to legitimate privacy concerns.
The collection and storage of biometric data, such as iris scans, raise questions about the potential misuse of this sensitive information.
Additionally, the idea of a global identification system may lead to fears of surveillance and centralized control over personal data.