WORLDCOIN PROJECT

WORLDCOIN PROJECT

WHY IN NEWS ?

• Recently, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the formal re­introduce Worldcoin.

WHAT IS WORLDCOIN ?

• Worldcoin is an iris biometric cryptocurrency project developed by San Francisco and Berlin-based Tools for Humanity.
• Worldcoin is an 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.
• World ID is the core feature of the platform, and it allows users to confirm their identity online.

WHAT IS ORB ?

• The orb is shiny and about the size of a large grapefruit, and was built with the help of a top Apple designer.
• Worldcoin has made around 1,500 of the devices and is building more.

• The orb has one purpose:
• to scan and record your iris.
• It then converts the biometric image into an impenetrable string of numbers, which Worldcoin refers to as an IrisCode.
• When combined with an algorithm, the code verifies you’re a unique human, and confirms that via an app on your phone.

WORKING OF WORLDCOIN :

• The Worldcoin venture runs on a simple model: allow your eyes to be scanned in order to prove your human uniqueness, and receive some crypto and an ID (called a World ID) in exchange.
• Worldcoin claims it is building the “world’s largest identity and financial public network” open to people worldwide.
• 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.

WHY DOES WORLDCOIN SCAN IRIS?

• 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.
• 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.

BENEFITS OF WORLDCOIN PROJECT:

• It will provide each person on earth with a convenient way to verify that they are a real human and not a bot or an AI algorithm.
• If successful, Worldcoin could drastically increase economic opportunity.
• It will scale a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while preserving privacy.
• It will enable global democratic processes, and eventually show a potential path to Al-funded UBI.

WAY FORWARD:

• Although a leap in innovation in field of cryptos and AI,it can prove beneficial to the evolution of technology in the long run.
• Worldcoin has also said it is fully compliant with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
• On the other hand, company using a technology known as zero­knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to maintain users privacy is a welcome move regarding privacy issues.

SYLLABUS: MAINS, GS-3, TECHNOLOGY

SOURCE: THE HINDU