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Join us as we explore how Worldcoin, co-founded by Sam Altman, Alex Blania, and Max Novendstern, is revolutionizing the global economy with a privacy-focused digital identity, the World ID, and digital currency $WLD and what happened around Worldcoin in Africa 🚀🌐
Blog posts related to this post:
・Download Full Report: Effect of Digital ID and Role of Decentralized ID (DID) in Africa
・Digital ID Initiatives by Country in Africa
・What Decentralized ID (DID) Means and How It Works
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Source: The story behind the new Worldcoin logo | Worldcoin
About Worldcoin
Worldcoin, a project co-founded by OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, Alex Blania, and Max Novendstern, is a groundbreaking blockchain initiative with the aim of revolutionizing the global economy1.
Worldcoin offers a privacy-focused digital identity known as the World ID, and, where allowed by law, a digital currency ($WLD) as a reward for human existence. To get started, download the World App, through which you can obtain a World ID via biometric verification using an Orb, a specialized biometric imaging device that scans the iris, allowing you to maintain your privacy while confirming your uniqueness online2.
Worldcoin Vision
On July 24, 2023, Alex and Altman outlined the project's objectives upon the official launch of the final product after a three-year Beta phase:
"If successful, we believe Worldcoin could drastically increase economic opportunity, scale a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while preserving privacy, enable global democratic processes and eventually show a potential path to AI-funded UBI (Universal Basic Income)."
- Alex Blania & Sam Altman on Introducing Worldcoin2
Worldcoin's Venture in Africa
In Africa, Worldcoin has made significant strides. The project chose Kenya as the first African country to launch the platform due to the already booming tech space and the more than four million Kenyans who are already trading in crypto3. Thousands of Kenyans had been queuing up at registration centers to get the currency worth about $49 (£39)3.
Photo: Embu town, Kenya, taken by author
However, the Kenyan government ordered Worldcoin to stop signing up new users, citing data privacy concerns3. By the time the Kenyan government suspended the project on August 3, 2023, it had registered over 2 million users globally since it started registering users about two years ago4 including over 350,000 Kenyans registered since the official launch5.
Worldcoin has also held programs in other African countries, including Sudan and Ghana6. In these countries, there have been allegations that the project lacked transparency and deployed exploitative methods to aid its set-up in localities and harvest biometric data to feed its algorithm and train its AI6.
Source: Tweet on X; Note: TFH refers to Tools for Humanity, the parent organization of Worldcoin established in 2019
Worldcoin's Expansion and Discussions
Despite the controversies, Worldcoin continues to expand. It has distributed orbs to 34 countries in Africa, South America, North America, Europe, and Asia7.
Worldcoin is an ambitious project with a vision of creating a new global "identity and financial network". As it continues to expand, especially in Africa, it will be interesting to see how it navigates the challenges and how it impacts the global economy.
What do you think?
References:
(1) Worldcoin Crypto Explained: What Is It And How Does It Work? | Analytics Insight
(2) Introducing Worldcoin: A letter from Alex Blania and Sam Altman | Worldcoin
(3) Worldcoin suspended in Kenya as thousands queue for free money | BBC News
(4) WorldCoin suspended in Kenya | Techpoint.africa
(5) What personal data does Worldcoin collect from you? | Citizen Digital
(6) Worldcoin Officially Launches Amid Fears Of Foul Play In Africa | Weetracker.com
(7) Worldcoin website
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