Worldcoin Strengthens Its Position Despite Ongoing Criticism
A pioneer in the proof of humanity market, the company Tools For Humanity seeks to continuously increase the database of its Worldcoin project. Indeed, it is only under this condition that it will be possible to effectively distinguish humans from machines in the digital world. By proposing to prioritize users verified by World ID in transactions on Worldchain, Sam Altman’s company aims to encourage even more people to use the famous Orb and iris scanning.
In brief
- Verified users will benefit from priority processing of their transactions on Worldchain.
- Controversies around the project persist.
Transactions of verified users will be prioritized on Worldchain
With his Worldcoin project, Sam Altman aims to position himself at the center of one of the major challenges of the digital era. The rise of bots and artificial intelligences, a field in which Sam Altman is also active with OpenAI, is gradually transforming the digital space into a shared environment between humans and machines. Therefore, Worldcoin aims to allow everyone to prove their humanity through iris scanning. To encourage more and more users to undergo this scan, Worldcoin rewards those who verify their humanity with WLD tokens.
Currently, World ID has 13 million users and its technology has already been used 100 million times by third-party applications.
Tools For Humanity, the company behind the project, wants to move to the next level. To encourage teams to build applications using Worldcoin, a grant of one million dollars in WLD is made available to new projects. Moreover, the PBH system will be used on World Chain to attract even more users. The PBH system, or “Priority Blockspace for Humans,” prioritizes verified users on the World Chain network. This new feature aims to make the network more efficient and fairer so that humans can continue to use it peacefully, regardless of the number of bots and AI agents.
We firmly believe that humans and AI can coexist harmoniously, and this development reflects our commitment to building user-friendly systems that benefit humanity while also making the most of bleeding-edge technology.
Steven Smith, Vice President of Tools For Humanity
Currently in testnet, PHB is now part of Rollup Boost, a module of the OP Stack, which will later allow other layer 2s to use it.
Controversies still persistent around the Worldcoin project
Since its launch, the Worldcoin project has raised concerns that complicate its development in many countries. Indeed, even though iris scanning is voluntary, the company collects a large amount of biometric data. Furthermore, by rewarding users with WLD tokens, the company strongly encourages citizens to scan their iris.
Among the countries most opposed to Tools for Humanity, Kenya is the most vehement. The country’s Supreme Court demands that Worldcoin erase all biometric data of its citizens collected by the company. It considers that the permanent storage of this data violates users’ privacy protection.
Brazil has not taken such radical measures, but its National Data Protection Authority has banned giving cryptocurrency rewards in exchange for biometric data. For now, three company centers remain in São Paulo.
In Europe, only Germany has so far taken measures requiring data deletion, while France, Spain, and Portugal have launched investigations into the company’s data collection and storage procedures.
The development of Worldcoin symbolizes one of the major digital challenges. It is indeed difficult to propose a tool that can verify users’ humanity without collecting users’ private data. Therefore, the project’s success will depend on its ability to find a balance that reassures regulators from different countries.
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Passionné par l’histoire du Web3, je m’efforce de rendre cette nouvelle ère numérique plus compréhensible grâce à mes articles et à ma thèse de doctorat en cours sur le sujet.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.