Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur, Sam Altman, has developed an iris-scanning silver orb through his company, Tools for Humanity, generating both intrigue and controversy.

The new gadget: The silver orb uses eye-scanning cameras to distinguish humans from machines, aiming to solve the “proof of personhood” problem prevalent in cryptocurrency circles.
* The process involves the orb capturing images of an individual’s irises for authentication, emitting a sound to indicate successful authentication.
* The technology has been leveraged for a project called Worldcoin, which seeks to verify the identity of persons dealing with cryptocurrency.

Pros and Cons: While the technology has been praised for its potential to validate human identity in an increasingly digital world, critics are concerned about its approach and implications.
* Supporters argue that iris scans could be effectively used as digital IDs for multiple applications such as logging into online accounts, weeding out bots on social media, and casting votes in elections.
* Critics, however, have raised serious concerns about privacy, with some even suggesting that the project’s primary goal might be to gather as much biometric data as possible and promote its cryptocurrency token.

Global reactions: Worldcoin’s initiatives have generated reactions around the globe, with some regions experiencing backlash over the capture of biometric data.
* The company has held eyeball-scanning events in locations ranging from Chile to Indonesia, offering participants the equivalent of about 50 US dollars in Worldcoin’s digital currency in exchange for iris scans.
* In Kenya, authorities raided Worldcoin’s warehouse due to “lack of clarity on the security and storage” of the iris scan data, leading to the pause of ID verifications in Kenya.
* In the European Union and the United Kingdom, officials have opened investigations into Worldcoin and its data collection practices.

Expert Opinion: Thought leaders in tech and cryptocurrencies have voiced their opinions on Tools for Humanity’s iris scanning device.
* “As artificial intelligence gets more advanced, it becomes both much more difficult to tell humans from bots apart online, but also becomes much more important to do so,” said Tiago Sada, the head of product for orb developer Tools for Humanity.
* Cryptographer David Chaum expressed concern regarding the vast amount of genetic information stored by Worldcoin, warning about the potential for identity theft and misuse of data in the event of a breach.

View original article on NPR

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