Worldcoin: Innovation or Risky Surveillance?
Worldcoin: Revolutionizing Identity or Raising Red Flags?
Worldcoin, now known as World, aims to reshape digital identity using iris biometrics. However, the project, led by Sam Altman, faces criticism from both individuals and governments.
Shady El Damaty, CEO of Holonym and a zero-knowledge cryptography expert, warns that World Network’s centralized structure is susceptible to data breaches with potentially severe global consequences.
The Promise of a Universal Digital ID
Amidst AI advancements, World seeks to scan every eye on Earth to establish a universal digital identity. The core is the World ID, a privacy-centric digital identity created via iris scans using “the Orb.”
“Worldcoin is the very first example of a company… that has the explicit mission of documenting every single person in the world with a cryptographically immutable link between a cryptographic hash of your eye and… your biometrics,” El Damaty told BeInCrypto.
Users receive WLD tokens, World’s cryptocurrency, for biometric verification. This incentivizes participation in the global network. Despite its innovation, the project carries substantial risks.
Why Iris Scanning?
World’s launch has sparked skepticism. While biometric authentication is increasingly common, scanning eyeballs for digital identity feels unsettling.
“[World] settled on… the iris, which has enough entropy within it that it’s really difficult to brute force... eyes, they are very difficult to change,” El Damaty explained.
The choice aligns with creating a trust layer in a post-AI world, offering “proof of personhood” to distinguish humans from AI bots.
“In the future, it might be really difficult to know who you’re interacting with...the most valuable commodity in the world isn’t going to be a currency... but it’s going to be authenticity,” El Damaty added.
However, World Network’s approach faces scrutiny due to differing views on digital identity.
Monolithic vs. Pluralistic Identity
Worldcoin’s “one iris scan, one identity” system is a monolithic approach, criticized for its security risks.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin warns that a singular, universally linked identity jeopardizes online privacy and freedom.
“That’s the real risk. If someone takes a picture of your eyes... identify who you are and what you’ve done on-chain,” El Damaty told BeInCrypto.
This contrasts with the cypherpunk ethos of Bitcoin, emphasizing anonymity. Critics argue World deviates from this privacy-first tradition.
Buterin and others are concerned about World’s nullifier, a cryptographic mechanism ensuring single sign-ups, which presents a significant vulnerability.
“As soon as your nullifier is given up... it could be the foundation of a really massive data leak,” El Damaty warned.
El Damaty advocates for pluralistic identity systems, using multiple online identities to protect sensitive real-world information from being linked to a single ID.
“Those iris codes shouldn’t be linked to the same amount of information that can be used to access your voting record or your social security benefits...undermine your status as a person in the real world,” he added.
This debate underlies World’s conflicts with national governments.
Worldcoin Data: A Government Honeypot?
World Network’s global reach challenges national sovereignty. What if governments demand access to citizens’ biometric data?
While Tools for Humanity may claim data resides across nations, El Damaty finds this defense weak.
“[World] also ha[s] infrastructure in the United States that’s going to be beholden to the US government’s authority...pull the plug and put your executives in jail if you don’t hand over all of the logs,”
This transforms World’s database into a government honeypot. El Damaty cites the 2018 CLOUD Act as precedent.
Nations Ban Worldcoin
The international response to Worldcoin has been hostile.
Countries like Spain, Portugal, Kenya, and Indonesia have imposed bans or investigations due to concerns over data handling, transparency, and age verification.
El Damaty notes that World’s financial and operational details are not fully public, enabling strategic control over their activities.
“I don’t think governments are going to suddenly turn overnight...let this American company [from] Silicon Valley...track all of our citizens and give them their crypto tokens,” El Damaty said.
Without clarity, nations are wary of entrusting identity information to a private entity operating outside established norms.
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