Sam Altman layout Web3: Let all mankind share AI profits

Even a year ago, the most famous technology star in the world was Musk; but now, OpenAI founder Sam Altman may be more famous than the Iron Man of Silicon Valley.

Both Musk and Altman have one thing in common, that is, in addition to their already super successful main business, they also have a more ambitious side business. Musk, who builds electric cars, has the ultimate dream of leading people on earth into the universe; Altman, who studies AI, is really concerned about, in addition to the arrival of general artificial intelligence AGI, the ultimate question of how human society will run after the arrival of AGI.

One of Altman’s ideas is to provide “Universal Basic Income (UBI)” for humans in the “AI era”, that is, to allow people around the world to “share” the huge profits brought by AI.

However, in order to distribute money to billions of people around the world, the first thing that must be solved is the identity proof problem.

The solution Altman found is - Worldcoin, a Web3 project that aims to help people deal with the challenges brought by AI by solving "digital identity" and realizing "Universal Basic Income (UBI)" .

In this regard, Alex Blania, another founder of Worldcoin, once publicly stated, "With the advent of the AI ​​era, we must maintain personal privacy while proving our human attributes. In this way, we can ensure that everyone can Get the wealth created by AI."

A few days ago, Worldcoin completed a $115 million Series C round of financing, led by Blockchain Capital and participated by a16z three times. Although Worldcoin is still in the testing phase, it has nearly 2 million registered users, with monthly growth exceeding 100%. It is expected to be launched on the mainnet in the first half of 2023.

Worldcoin, can it replicate the success of ChatGPT? How close is Altman to giving money to people all over the world?

Altman’s Web3 ambitions

Sam Altman has always been interested in crypto projects.

In his early years, he spent US$10 million to establish the accelerator project Y Combinator, and also launched a very crazy project in the United States - "Universal Basic Income (UBI)". In this plan, participants can receive a fixed salary without any additional conditions, so that they can freely choose their favorite career and no longer be trapped by food and clothing.

In March 2021, Sam Altman also publicly spoke out for the encryption field, appreciating the "pass" mechanism, and believed that "pass" can be used as a "Universal Basic Income (UBI)" to provide low-income people with Fair financial infrastructure.

A few months later, Sam Altman founded the cryptocurrency project-Worldcoin together with Alex Blania and Max Novendstern.

Alex Blania and Sam Altman｜Worldcoin

Worldcoin is an open source protocol powered by developers, individuals, economists and technology experts from around the world dedicated to expanding participation in and access to the global economy. It consists of two parts: Worldcoin Foundation and Tools for Humanity (TFH). The former is its initiator and guardian, focusing on the community development of Worldcoin; the latter is the actual technology development body and currently serves as the foundation's consultant and Operator of World App.

What’s interesting is that founder Sam Altman’s positioning of Worldcoin is advancing with the times and making timely adjustments.

In its early days, Sam Altman positioned Worldcoin as a company focused on “Universal Basic Income (UBI)”. He hopes to distribute the huge wealth generated by AI to everyone in the world in equal amounts through cryptocurrency. Specifically, means to ## who accept "iris scanning" #10 Hundreds of millions of people airdrop the “inclusive and open” cryptocurrency.

However, affected by negative news reports and the collapse of cryptocurrency prices, Worldcoin’s advancement has not been smooth, and it was even forced to cease operations in at least seven countries. This time coincides with the popularity of ChatGPT and AI, which provides a new direction for Worldcoin.

So, in March this year, Altman repackaged Worldcoin into a project focused on "identity proof", emphasizing the "inherent value", "equal rights", and "privacy" of "human beings" in the AI ​​era. "protection" and "open cooperation".

In this regard, Altman explained, "

Due to the development of AI, the demand for systems that provide personality certification, as well as the need for wealth redistribution, and new experiments in global governance systems are growing. " Worldcoin It also stated on its official Twitter, "The popularity of ChatGPT has brought about the challenge of distinguishing humans and AI in the digital world."

Therefore, the official description of Worldcoin today is as follows:

Worldcoin is building the world's largest identity and financial network public facilities, giving everyone ownership.

Our goal is to create universal access to the global economy, regardless of country or background, accelerating the transition to an economic future that benefits everyone on the planet.

In short, Worldcoin now wants to build the fairest global digital identity and cryptocurrency system. By letting cryptocurrency serve as infrastructure, it can realize the concept of "inclusive finance" and make "global The economy belongs to everyone."

This "vision" is of great significance, because there are still more than hundreds of millions of people around the world who cannot verify their identity through digital means. They have no way to access the financial system and enjoy financial services.

In addition, it is also worth mentioning that Worldcoin’s long-term goal is to create a completely “decentralized” system, but the development of the project is now managed by Tools for Humanity (TFH), with plans to eventually spin off control Give to a non-profit foundation.

To date, more than 700,000 users in about 25 countries and regions, including Chile, France and Kenya, have registered for Worldcoin. The company plans to fully launch the project in 2023 and hopes to rapidly expand its user base.

However, when Worldcoin came out in 2021, many critics regarded it as a "dystopian nightmare." Despite this, it still received many well-known investors such as a16z, Coinbase Ventures, and Day One Ventures. It has also received support from the founders of multiple Ethereum projects, Polkadot, and the Web Foundation in angel round financing. The two rounds of financing totaled US$125 million. A few days ago, it also received Series C financing led by Blockchain Capital. Zhongwei raised US$115 million.

Faced with many investors, what kind of business model has Worldcoin formulated?

Worldcoin’s path is exactly the same as OpenAI’s. It disclosed in a statement that the company will transform into a non-profit organization. Moreover, it is currently free to trade on the WorldAPP wallet. Not only is it free, but you can also get a cryptocurrency reward equivalent to $9 in the wallet by participating in the background quiz within the wallet. You know, all interactions on the chain require gas fees. The fact that WorldAPP is free means that they not only bear the handling fees, but also use the money as "rebate subsidies."

It is estimated that when worldcoin reaches a certain scale, it will inevitably charge fees. For example, after it becomes an application entry-level platform, it can collect taxes; another example is to provide identity verification services for third parties. This One point, which has been implemented since March this year, may become a new profit model for Worldcoin.

It is also worth mentioning that Worldcoin’s ambitions in Web3 are not limited to the field of cryptocurrency. It is also actively planning applications in social networks, voting, financial services, customer incentives, markets, currency distribution and other fields.

How "Web3" saves "AI"

So, how does Altman plan to use Worldcoin to realize the beautiful vision of making "the global economy belongs to everyone"?

Altman divided Worldcoin into three tasks, namely an identity protocol (World ID) that protects privacy, a global token (Worldcoin) that will be distributed for free to 1 billion people around the world, and a global support platform. A wide range of wallet systems (WorldAPP) for payments, purchases and transfers using Worldcoin tokens, digital assets and traditional currencies.

Worldcoin Three Important Applications｜Worldcoin

World ID

First of all, World ID is the premise for users to participate in the "global economy", which is the underlying identity protocol of the "global digital identity" authentication system that Worldcoin is trying to build. It is the user's identity certificate when receiving Worldcoin, so "one person, one certificate" must be ensured to truly achieve fair distribution of wealth.

To this end, Worldcoin uses the biometric device Orb to perform "iris scanning" on users to provide users with a unique and verifiable digital identity——World ID. In view of the fact that iris is one of the biological characteristics of the human body, It is extremely unique and stable and cannot be copied or imitated.

Equipment used for iris recognition Orb｜Worldcoin

At the same time, World ID adopts the "Proof of Personhood (PoP)" mechanism, which is a complex combination of customized hardware, machine learning technology, cryptography and blockchain technology. Through this certificate, The World ID protocol enables everyone to prove their humanity online without relying on third-party agencies.

This innovative authentication method utilizes "Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP)" to protect user privacy to the greatest extent and achieves identity security through World ID managed by the user himself.

In short, World ID, as an open and permissionless identity protocol, has a wide range of application prospects. It can not only be used as a safe and reliable "global digital passport", but also can be used to protect privacy. Prove a person's identity.

This is crucial to solving the current problem of the proliferation of fake accounts caused by AI. For example, in social media, it can reduce the occurrence of AI fake accounts and malicious comments, the spread of AI-generated misinformation, and even promote democratic governance on the Internet. In addition, AI accounts can also be prevented from participating in some tasks to ensure that only real humans participate, thereby protecting human employment rights and interests.

In this regard, Worldcoin CEO Alex Blania said, “In a world where AI raises new questions about what is human and what is not human on the Internet, World ID is very important. This is also the cryptocurrency and AI industry. An example of an overlap. Rewritten sentence: Use it to tackle one of the Internet's toughest problems: preventing false identities from affecting online activity while maintaining privacy. Additionally, potential applications include dealing with falsehoods on social media personal data, distribute a Universal Basic Income (UBI), and empower new forms of digital democracy."

Worldcoin

As mentioned above, after completing the World ID authentication, the user will receive Worldcoin tokens, obtain their own Universal Basic Income (UBI), and then use this token to purchase daily necessities on the World App.

Considering the future, 65% of human jobs will be replaced by AI, which means that in the near future, the people without income will account for more than 65% of the global total, The global distribution of worldcoin can ensure that every user can receive a fair and stable basic income, which can effectively alleviate job losses caused by AI and provide people with a certain degree of economic security.

According to the plan, Worldcoin expects to issue 10 billion WLD tokens before the end of June, of which 2 billion will be used to long-term fund developers and investors of the Worldcoin protocol, and the remaining 8 billion will be distributed free of charge to all users around the world.

The issuance principle of Worldcoin｜Worldcoin

Worldcoin adopts a deflationary reward model and uses task incentives to increase activity. This means that WLD tokens are not issued all at once, but are obtained by completing tasks. In the early stage, you will receive 1 token per week. In the later period, the time interval for receiving tokens will increase over time, which may be every Receive 1 piece per month, which is helpful to maintain user activity.

Judging from the data, good results have also been achieved. Currently, there are nearly 2 million registered users. According to Altman’s vision, billions of people will use World ID to receive Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the future. .

World App

Finally, there is World App, which is a native wallet developed specifically for Worldcoin and the carrier of WorldID. In other words, it is both an "encrypted wallet" and an "ID card" in the AI ​​era.

World App is built on Polygon and can be downloaded and used by anyone at any time. Its purpose is to enable billions of people around the world to obtain "decentralized" identity and finance, thereby participating in the "global economy" ”.

World APP debuted on May 8, 2023. After extensive development and learning from more than 1.5 million beta users, the first phase of World App is now available globally. With the establishment of the non-profit World Coin Foundation, World App is undergoing a process of "decentralization" in terms of governance, operations and grant activities.

Tools for Humanity (TFH), the team behind World App, said in a statement to The Chainsaw, “World App has been launched in more than 100 countries, with nearly 2 million users and 600,000 monthly active users. Users have become the most popular way to interact with cryptocurrency."

World App Design | Worldcoin

They are excited about the important role played by World App in realizing the popularization of "decentralized" technology, and believe that the release of this achievement will eventually promote the popularization of privacy-protecting identity certificates and Internet-native financial services, thereby allowing digital Currency occupies a place in global fair distribution and public governance.

To sum up, Worldcoin’s vision is very forward-looking and ambitious. The global identity (World ID), global token (Worldcoin), and wallet system (WorldAPP) it plans to establish all have extensive practical application value, which can not only help meet the "challenges" brought by AI, but also contribute to the development of the digital economy. It brings new "opportunities".

"Risk" and "Challenge"

Although the founder of Worldcoin has considerable influence, his advanced ideas still encounter many doubts and challenges. Specifically, the problems faced by Worldcoin mainly include the following aspects:

Technology and Privacy Risk

The first to bear the brunt is Worldcoin’s “iris scanning” technical solution. It has not been widely verified and applied, so many people are questioning the reliability and stability of this biometric technology, especially its ability to protect privacy. Edward Snowden, the protagonist of the US "Prism Gate" incident, wrote on Twitter: "The human body is not a punching machine." Expressing his resistance to human "iris scanning".

In this regard, although the Worldcoin team claims that "IrisCode" is the only information leaving the iris scanning device Orb, the user's original biometric information will be destroyed immediately, and the identity on the chain is completely encrypted, secure and untraceable , but this does not completely eliminate people's concerns about privacy issues. Even if biometric data isn't stored, collecting it is still risky, privacy and surveillance experts warn. 』

In addition, the popularity of the iris scanning device Orb is also an important issue. Worldcoin needs to ensure that the device achieves broad reach and is easily accessible to users around the world. In response, Worldcoin has taken some measures, such as providing coupons and loan incentives to promote user registration and device popularity, but the actual results have been little.

Legal and Regulatory Risk

Currently, Worldcoinn has not yet received widespread legal recognition, so its compliance also faces certain difficulties and challenges.

For example, some countries and regions such as the United States have restrictions and controls on World ID and Worldcoin, which prevents Worldcoin from entering these countries. Currently, Worldcoin is licensed in only 24 countries, 14 of which are developing countries and 8 in Africa.

However, residents in poor areas generally lack legal protection and have the lowest data collection costs. Collecting user data in such places has been accused by many media of being "a disguised form of crypto-colonialism."

Ari Paul, founder of crypto investment institution Block Tower Capital, also pointed out, “Worldcoin’s core business model is to steal data from the poorest people in the world, test the data in a way that exploits the poor, and monetize it. It’s just a criminal act of stealing data from poor people through fraud.” Moreover, users in poor areas generally know little about Worldcoin and the encryption industry, and letting them join the encryption world may not be a good thing for them.

Since currency is the power of a sovereign country, regulation has become an unavoidable risk, especially for Worldcoin. Libra, the stablecoin project that once carried the vision of "world currency", could not escape the fate of "abortion" even if there was a Facebook platform behind it.

Competition and Financial Risk

Worldcoin is facing challenges from other competitors in the fiercely competitive digital currency market.. The status of mature cryptocurrency projects, such as plnetwork, is difficult to shake, and emerging competitors are constantly launching more attractive products and services, which will affect Worldcoin's market share and user base. In addition to this, Worldcoin also has to deal with the risk of high volatility in cryptocurrency prices.

Worldcoin is an innovative cryptocurrency project that combines AI, blockchain technology, and the concept of basic income (UBI) to provide sustainable and fair income solutions for everyone around the world.

It is Sam Altman's vision of the future general artificial intelligence (AGI) world. As he mentioned earlier, "I hope that the advantages, access and governance of AGI can be widely and fairly shared." This also got his "son" Recognized by ChatGPT, it stated that "AI and Web3 can promote each other and jointly support more innovation."

Although Worldcoin will still face many doubts and challenges in the short term, there is no doubt that it is one of the most promising crypto applications so far.

As artificial intelligence flourishes, demand is growing for systems that provide identity authentication, as well as for wealth redistribution and global governance systems. 』

Sam Altman is so sure about Worldcoin’s future.

Header picture source: Ad Age

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