Worldcoin Transforms into World
Worldcoin, co-founded by Sam Altman, has officially dropped the 'coin' from its name, now simply known as World. This shift was announced during a live event in San Francisco, where the company also revealed its next-generation iris-scanning Orb.
A New Identity Beyond Cryptocurrency
Alex Blania, co-founder and CEO of World, stated that the previous name was no longer fitting, indicating a desire to expand the startup's identity beyond its initial focus on cryptocurrency. The iris-scanning technology was initially intended to facilitate access to Worldcoins, but the founders clarify that this was never implemented.
Sam Altman’s Involvement
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, remains deeply involved in World, participating in significant decisions. However, Blania emphasized that World and OpenAI operate independently, with distinct missions. Despite this, there's potential for future integration of World’s cryptocurrency with platforms like ChatGPT.
The Vision Behind World
World aims to address the challenges posed by advanced AI systems, which may blur the lines between humans and machines online. Their solution revolves around human verification services built on blockchain technology. They also aspire to redistribute AI-generated wealth through Worldcoins, making AI benefits accessible to all.
Privacy Concerns and Global Scrutiny
Worldcoin has faced scrutiny from governments, including investigations in Kenya and the EU, regarding privacy and security issues. These concerns could impact the startup's future operations.
Roadmap and Future Plans
During the event, World outlined a four-step roadmap:
- Development of the Orb
- Building a distributed ownership network
- Scaling operations
- Redistributing AI benefits
With the first two steps completed, the focus now is on scaling from 7 million verified users to a much larger base. The new Orb is designed for easier mass production, operates three times faster, and will allow verification in various public settings, including partnerships with major delivery services.
New Innovations: Deep Face and World ID
World introduced Deep Face, a service aimed at combating online impersonation and deepfakes, and announced a beta version of World ID, an alternative to traditional government IDs for online identity verification without compromising personal information.
Trust Issues Ahead
Despite the innovative concepts, World may face challenges in gaining public trust. The event required guests to verify their identities with government-issued IDs, raising concerns about trusting a cryptocurrency startup with personal data, especially with Altman’s controversial history.
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