Worldcoin is now called World and wants to help against deepfakes
The controversial Worldcoin project is changing its name to focus on helping people with authentication in the age of AI.
(Image: Rokas Tenys/Shutterstock.com)
The controversial cryptocurrency project Worldcoin has removed the reference to its own cryptocurrency from its name and intends to focus primarily on identification services as "World" from now on. The project will continue to rely on its own iris scanners, and World presented a revised version of the devices in San Francisco. The aim is to enable people to authenticate themselves in times of AI-generated forgeries. The in-house app, in which the so-called World ID can be stored, has also been completely updated. A total of one billion people should now be able to identify themselves with the system.
Support against deepfakes
The new features now presented include a technology called Deep Face. By combining iris scans with its own app, this is intended to ensure that people can ensure that they are communicating with real people and not deepfakes in video calls or chat applications in times of deepfakes. A beta version is to be released in the coming weeks. The own world app will now also enable third-party applications and offer "dramatically" improved usability.
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The project will link the Ethereum-based layer 2 cryptocurrency "Worldcoin" with the digital ID generated by an iris scan. If you want to participate in Worldcoin, you have to sit in front of an eye scanner called Orb, install a cell phone app and have your iris scanned by the Orb. The project has set up a biometric database for this purpose. It was largely developed in Erlangen. The founders of the operating company Tools for Humanity (TFH) include OpenAI boss Sam Altman and German computer scientist Alex Blania. The concept has met with great mistrust in various countries, in some cases it has even been banned.
(mho)
