OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman has set himself a biometric crypto trap.
Startup company Worldcoin of tech millionaire (or billionaire) Sam Altman has come out of stealth mode and offered free cryptocurrency to citizens of the world who verify their accounts by having their iris scanned by a special biometric device.
- The Worldcoin crypto project is challenging citizens of the world to give their biometrics by offering cryptocurrencies in exchange for their biometrics!
This news is almost two years old (published October 2021).
Some governments and privacy advocates have raised serious privacy concerns against Worldcoin.
- Biometric data make the Worldcoin crypto project inherently vulnerable to security.
Worldcoin appears to be a big mistake by OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman.
Worldcoin is challenging citizens of the world to provide biometric data about their iris.
What a clever trick to entice the common mass to go for an iris scan as part of their billion dollar biometric project for free!
- Worldcoin's crypto biometrics project has begun rolling out its biometric data collection, asking citizens of the world to go for iris scans on their devices.
- In return, users will earn pennies in Worldcoin cryptocurrency.
- The massive iris biometric data collected will be used to test their AI software.
It's a bad deal for the citizens of the world to part with their valuable biometric data.
- Since the official launch, Worldcoin's valuation has risen to more than $1 billion through significant investments from Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
Some governments and privacy advocates have raised serious privacy concerns against Worldcoin.
- Worldcoin has already sent its biometric iris scanning devices to testers in many countries.
- Their biometric scanner captures and encrypts an image of users' irises in exchange for a free share of Worldcoin's cryptocurrency.
Despite Worldcoin's clarification that the biometric collection system respects user privacy, the Worldcoin iris scanning project has attracted the attention of privacy advocates in various parts of the world.
- At this point, some governments and experts have raised serious privacy concerns about the collection and storage of biometric data to be collected with artificial intelligence software.
Government of Kenya ordered PAUSE of the Worldcoin project on their territory. The government official said they want to find out what the iris scanner device is doing with citizens' iris scans before they signal OKAY!
Biometric privacy is not the only issue in Worldcoin.
- The news media mainly report on the privacy aspects of biometric data collection by the Worldcoin project.
Do we understand that the impact of the Worldcoin biometric crypto project will go beyond data privacy concerns?
- Angel investors are investing their money in anticipation of making huge financial gains from Worldcoin's biometric-driven crypto projects.
Investors do not have a basic technological understanding of biometrics and therefore do not understand the technical issues associated with biometric recognition.
Biometrics make the Worldcoin crypto project inherently vulnerable to security.
Biometric data is probabilistic in nature and therefore unreliable and reduce security the authentication of the people.
- As a result, biometric technology makes the Worldcoin crypto project inherently vulnerable to security.
In my humble ten or more years of practical research studies in different biometric modalities I consider the biometric crypto project Worldcoin a big mistake.
Conclusion
- The biometric privacy issue is not the only problem of the over-hyped Worldcoin crypto project.
- Angel investors lack the basic technological knowledge of biometrics and therefore do not understand the technical issues associated with biometric recognition.
- Biometrics are inherently probabilistic and therefore unreliable and reduce the security of people's authentication. As a result, the biometrics-driven Worldcoin crypto project is exposed to a serious security risk.
The Worldcoin biometric crypto project appears to be a big mistake by OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman and party.
https://read.cash/@Unity/biometrics-is-a-security-trap-on-the-worldcoin-crypto-project-c9cabecf