{"id":25668,"date":"2024-03-11T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salvadorvilalta.com\/?p=25668"},"modified":"2024-03-11T12:33:47","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T11:33:47","slug":"the-worldcoin-controversy-decentralized-digital-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salvadorvilalta.com\/en\/the-worldcoin-controversy-decentralized-digital-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"The Worldcoin Controversy: Decentralized Digital Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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This week, the news broke that the Data Protection Agency had adopted an unprecedented measure and ordered Worldcoin to cease its process of collecting biometric data from the iris of its users in Spanish territory<\/b>.<\/p>\n

So far, nearly 360,000 people have joined this project in Spain, and at the time of writing this post, there are nearly 4.2 million users worldwide!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Economista_Worldcoin\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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After the intense noise generated in many media, I wanted to bring a little clarity about Worldcoin.
<\/b>What it is, how its biometric identification system works and what lies behind the payment of an economic amount through the WLD<\/b> cryptocurrency to verify your identity through a biometric data as sensitive as your own iris<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

My position in this regard is clear. I have no desire for anyone to have my iris in a database I don’t control, but that said, This is not so unusual when we are providing biometric data such as our fingerprint to unlock devices. <\/b>or our facial data to do exactly the same or to register an online bank account or perform a KYC (KnowYour Customer)…. <\/span><\/p>\n

The question at this point is where is this data stored, beyond a device using a particular brand’s proprietary technology?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Source: Worldcoin website<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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All this mess has a very relevant foundation for me and that is Decentralized Digital Identity. In fact I recently wrote a post on my blog talking about this: <\/span>“Exploring Web3, the New Internet Frontier.<\/a>“<\/span><\/p>\n

In this, I reflected on having an identity of which we can be absolute owners, that we decide what data we share, that does not depend on third parties, and that allows us to identify ourselves in any application or platform globally, avoiding having to use the current centralized identifications such as those you are using from Gmail, Facebook, Microsoft and many others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Worldcoin proposes the creation of a universal identifier called World ID<\/b> integrated with any application.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Source: Worldcoin website<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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This makes all the sense in the world as <\/span>our privacy is being threatened<\/b> by institutions and governments. It is important for us to be aware that everything that is coming our way in the next few years (sooner rather than later)<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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If there is someone who explains this very clearly, it is Marc Vidal<\/b>,<\/a> whom I deeply admire for his courage and perseverance in his Youtube channel and in all his interventions in the media. I leave you with one of his videos that explains this topic perfectly.
I would like to send you my admiration for the fantastic informative work that you are doing.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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There is little more to say to Marc’s video only to warn of the dangers that all this poses to our freedom as individuals. I am convinced that we are facing the worst attack by institutions and governments whose ultimate goal is to control individuals in order to take away their ability to be free<\/b>.<\/p>\n

But, let’s take it one step at a time.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What is Worldcoin?<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Worldcoin is a cryptocurrency and blockchain technology project that has generated considerable interest in the technology and financial community. The company behind Worldcoin is Tools for Humanity<\/a>, co-founded by Alex Blania and Sam Altman, who is also the CEO of OpenAI.<\/p>

It consists of a Protocol comprising World ID,<\/b> a biometric verification system, and Worldcoin<\/b>, a digital currency issued to verified humans, and World App<\/b>, an application that connects users to this protocol.<\/p>\n

The Worldcoin project aims to create a more equitably distributed cryptocurrency with a focus on identity and privacy<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Worldcoin’s business model is based on the creation of a cryptocurrency that is distributed free of charge to anyone who verifies their identity<\/b> using a device called“Orb<\/b>“. The Orb scans the iris of people’s eyes to create a unique hash, making it possible to verify a person’s identity without storing sensitive biometric data. The idea is to ensure that each person receives an equal amount of the Worldcoin cryptocurrency, thus promoting a more equitable distribution.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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As for shareholders, since Worldcoin is part of a private company, Tools for Humanity, specific information about all of its shareholders is not publicly accessible. However, Sam Altman, <\/b>one of the co-founders, is known to have a significant stake in the company. In addition, Worldcoin has received investment from various venture capital firms and other investors,<\/b> but specific details about each of the shareholders are not fully transparent to the public.<\/p>\n

I leave you with a video of the project “This is Worldcoin: Humanness in the age of AI<\/b>”  perfectly explains its objectives and technology. This paper addresses the impact of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and the need to validate that there is a “…”.profile  human<\/b>“The company’s CEO is introduced, the Worldcoin protocol is discussed, the system’s privacy measures are listed, and the concepts of decentralization and global inclusion are also addressed.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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As you will see World ID differentiates between humans and AI or other entities online through a combination of advanced biometric verification and a unique hardware device known as the orb.<\/b> The orb performs checks on the device using neural networks to ensure that the individual is a real human and is not wearing a mask, a screen, or any other deception. It then issues a certificate of proof of humanity called World ID. This system allows individuals to prove their human uniqueness on the Internet while maintaining privacy and inclusivity, making it a robust solution for authenticating human presence online.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What are the specific privacy protection measures that World ID offers to users? <\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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In the video, World ID’s privacy measures are emphasized through three key layers of protection:<\/p>\n