Worldcoin plans to grow its project to add more users globally and wants to make its iris-scanning and identity verification technology available to other companies.
The company intends to increase its activities in Africa, Europe, and Latin America.
Worldcoin, which was co-founded by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, went live last week. As part of efforts to build a “identity and financial network,” users had to submit iris scans in exchange for a digital ID and, in some countries, free bitcoin.
People have been having their faces scanned by a shiny, spherical “orb” at sign-up sites all across the world, dismissing privacy advocates’ worries that the biometric data might be exploited.
According to Worldcoin, 2.2 million people have registered, mainly during a trial period over the last two years.
The Worldcoin website lists a number of potential uses, albeit these outcomes are not assured. These include separating humans from artificial intelligence, facilitating “global democratic processes,” and illuminating a “potential path” to universal basic income.
Companies might pay Worldcoin to use its digital identification system. For instance, if a coffee shop wanted to give everyone one free coffee, it could use Worldcoin’s technology to make sure that customers did not claim more than one coffee without the store needing to collect personal data.
Data watchdogs in Germany, France, and Britain have indicated that they are investigating the project.
Concerns concerning Worldcoin’s data collecting have been raised by regulators and privacy advocates, including whether users are providing informed consent and whether only one corporation should be in charge of handling the data.
