Why Worldcoin’s Digital ID Gambit Draws Fans, Critics

Artificial intelligence has taken over much of the financial hype cycle that used to belong to cryptocurrency. Now comes a project that’s trying to combine the two. Called Worldcoin, it’s an effort to create a global network of digital identities for a world in which AI robots become harder to distinguish from humans. Users of the service scan their eyeballs to create digital credentials and are rewarded with Worldcoin tokens — though the cryptocurrency isn’t available in the US. More than 2 million people have signed up for a World ID, a reflection of the novel compensation model and the reputation of one of its founders, Sam Altman, the chief executive officer of OpenAI, which created the popular ChatGPT chatbot service. But early scrutiny by international regulators and some data security problems have stirred controversy and threatened to slow Worldcoin’s momentum.

The project uses a device called an “orb” — which looks like a Magic 8 Ball but bigger and silver-colored — to scan a person’s iris, which has a unique pattern in every human much as a fingerprint does. That creates a World ID, which grants its holders “proof of personhood” — a way to verify their identities on various online services without disclosing their name or other personal data. Worldcoin is also the name of the cryptocurrency that’s used to reward people who scan their eyeballs or who support the project. The Worldcoin Foundation is listed as the steward of the technology, but the organizers say that it has no owners or shareholders and that holders of Worldcoin tokens will have a say in the direction of the project. Worldcoin is also affiliated with a tech company called Tools for Humanity Corp. that says it was “established to accelerate the transition towards a more just economic system.”