In the early hours on Monday, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and the driving force behind AI models like ChatGPT, launched his latest venture — Worldcoin (WLD).
With OpenAI going from a non-profit private organization, to a for-profit private organization in 2019, some questions bear asking: What is Worldcoin? Is it safe? What is it for? Who is it for?
Some of these answers are going to be in Worldcoin's whitepaper — its user guide — and we'll compare it to crypto stalwarts like Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD to give you a better idea of exactly what Altman's new coin is all about.
Welcome, Worldcoin: The Worldcoin project aims to solve the global-scale challenge of aligning economic incentives and human identity. A small device, referred to as the “Orb," is used to scan people's eyes, generating a unique digital identity for each individual, known as a World ID.
A World ID provides “proof of personhood” — a tool considered essential as AI tech blurs the lines between human and machine creations.
In the words of Altman himself, “the journey will be challenging and the outcome is uncertain,” yet the growing interest in AI might be a favorable tailwind for the project.
Worldcoin's mission, as mentioned in the whitepaper, is to create a globally-inclusive identity and financial network, increasing economic opportunity and paving the way for global democratic processes and potential AI-funded universal basic income (UBI).
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Comparing Worldcoin Its Predecessors: Worldcoin, much like Bitcoin and Ethereum, is a digital asset powered by blockchain technology, but the similarities largely end there.
Where Bitcoin was primarily designed as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, and Ethereum was conceived to facilitate decentralized applications and smart contracts, Worldcoin sets its sights on a more ambitious goal: Creating a universally accessible proof of personhood that differentiates humans from AI, while also launching a global financial network.
While Bitcoin is issued to secure the Bitcoin network, and Ethereum facilitates the operation of DApps and smart contracts, Worldcoin is issued with the express intent to grow the Worldcoin network, with security inherited from Ethereum. Its novel biometric approach is aimed at providing a reliable way to issue a global proof of personhood in an era of increasingly powerful AI.
Worldcoin Launches With Imperfections: Despite its promising mission and notable backing, Worldcoin’s journey hasn’t been without hiccups. As the project opened signups, it faced criticism for allegedly deceptive practices in countries including Indonesia, Ghana, and Chile, according to a Monday Bloomberg report.
More to that, the current global regulatory climate for cryptocurrencies, characterized by crackdowns and lawsuits, presents a steep challenge for the nascent project.
As said in the whitepaper, Worldcoin consists of a privacy-preserving digital identity network (World ID) built on proof of personhood and a digital currency. Every human is eligible for a share of Worldcoin simply by being human.
The network has been launched on a blockchain called OP Mainnet, and the initial distribution of the Worldcoin crypto token is currently underway.
Project’s Potential: Despite early challenges and ongoing uncertainties, Worldcoin represents a bold experiment in the intersection of AI, identity, and finance. The project has considerable potential, promising to increase economic opportunity, democratize global processes, and even create a potential path to AI-funded UBI.
Despite the long and potentially challenging path towards Altman’s ambitious targets, especially considering regulatory hurdles, it’s worth noting the significant strides made by Altman and OpenAI over the past year. Given the impact AI has had on equity markets, Worldcoin is a project worth keeping an eye on.
WLD Price action: Worldcoin is trading at $2.26 per token, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Photo: TechCrunch on Flickr
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