In this article we try to analyze the positive and negative aspects of Sam Altaman’s Worldcoin AI project.
The potential related to this AI company is huge, but the way Altman has obtained funding and visibility has the public debating, highlighting discouraging controversies.
These include the impact that Worldcoin and AI could have on the world as a whole and in particular the jobs that will be replaced by the technology.
Summary
Sam Altman: the potential of the Worldcoin project
Sam Altman Worldcoin AI project was officially launched last week, accompanied by the listing of the WLD token on major cryptocurrency exchanges.
After 18 months of beta testing, where the promising project gained more than 2 million registrations, Worldcoin made its official global debut by also launching the World App platform, developed by the technology company Tools of Humanity.
The goal of Worldcoin and Sam Altman is to provide a digital identikit through iris scanning using AI hardware called “orb,” which can precisely recognize people’s biometric data through a quick scan.
The potential of this technology is immense because it presents the solution to a myriad of problems that plague the Internet world, both in Web2 and Web3.
Just think of the multitude of bots and fake accounts that are created daily on social media creating heavy disruption and damage to communities.
Moreover, the recognition of a “personality proof” by iris scanning should be carried out technically while respecting the principle of people’s privacy, a factor that is of special importance nowadays.
In order to create millions of digital identities and expand its user base, the Worldcoin foundation announced last week that it has expanded the worldwide supply of “Orb” by incentivizing several users scattered around the world to use the device by receiving in return a free airdrop of WLD tokens equal to about $60.
The Bitget exchange team believes that the cryptocurrency in question will face some difficulties due to certain tokenomics and market conditions
One particularly penalizing issue for WLD relates to the selling pressure that various market makers could put in place should the price of the token experience a rise.
In any case, beyond the price action of the token, which unfortunately suffers from an overly high max supply and a fully diluted capitalization that is out of proportion, it will be interesting to see how Sam Altman moves in the coming months to take the throne as king of AI.
The cards on the table to establish himself as a leading figure through his project are there: the only problem will be to overcome some controversies related to various local regulations and achieve widespread approval across the world.
Sam Altman and the controversies related to Worldcoin
As mentioned, one of the most important challenges that Sam Altman will face are those related to a number of controversies related to his AI project.
The first point of analysis concerns the issue of regulations: several supervisory authorities in Europe are concerned about the way Worldcoin is collecting and processing the personal data of its users.
In particular, the French National Commission for Information and Liberty (CNIL), announced that it has opened an investigation into the token launched by Sam Altman and the entire project.
Of special concern is the “legality of the data collection” which appears doubtful as well as the measures conditions of storage of biometric data, in concordance with the German authorities which is also launching an investigation to understand more.
Even the British Ico, the national data protection authority, is taking the case very seriously.
European regulators are taking into consideration 3 elements on which they can weigh the charges against Sam Altman and his AI platform.
First we find the absence of a data protection impact assessment, which is mandatory both within the EU and in the UK, before any digital product is launched.
Then there are issues related to the legality of iris scanning, the data collection of which is subject to strict rules under the GDPR, which requires more detailed information for Worldcoin users than is currently provided.
Those accessing the World app should be able to freely cancel their membership and refuse the collection of their data, although there is no trace of these options within the platform.
Finally, we find the issue of the processing of personal data and what happens to it when it is sent outside Europe. Altman should make sure that the company collecting it is recognized as adequate by the European Commission.
As if that were not enough, to the ‘insurmountable mountain of problems related to European regulations, there are other controversies related to Wordcoin’s operations and the way the artificial intelligence project has obtained funding.
In detail, an MIT investigation found evidence calling the way Sam Altman attracted participants in Indonesia, Ghana and Chile “deceptive and exploitative.”
In addition, the experts’ analysis found that one of the project’s early stage backers and financiers was Sam Bankman Fried, who is accused of organizing an $8 billion fraud with his now-defunct exchange FTX.
Not exactly a good calling card.
Professions that will disappear thanks to AI
A further controversy regarding Sam Altman and Worldcoin concerns the social impact that AI tools generate within global communities.
As we all know, the array of artificial intelligence technologies are geared to revolutionize the world of work, creating new specialized occupations but eliminating a whole range of roles that we now consider fundamental.
In an interview with the US magazine “The Atlantic,” OpenAI and Worldcoin founder Sam Altman has outlined his thoughts about the AI revolution effect, which will undoubtedly make some traditional jobs disappear.
Many are wondering which sectors in particular will be affected by this trend, without being able to provide a concrete answer.
However, some OpenAI experts and researchers at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study in March 2023 in which a preliminary answer to this question was attempted.
What emerges is that translators and interpreters will be the jobs that will be most harmed by the advent of AI.
This is actually not a surprise: just think of the ability with which one can easily translate text on the Internet, even without the use of specific AI software.
Writers and survey professionals, on the other hand, will be much less radically affected, given and considering the “creativity and uniqueness” factors that only the human touch can bring to a text.
Another study, this time by an information technology professor at Princeton, points out that lawyers, professors, judges, and financial managers may find themselves in danger in the coming years.
Truth be told, all sectors will be affected, to a greater or lesser degree, by the AI explosion.
This makes it complex to understand whether there will be professions immune to this revolution.
Unfortunately or fortunately, the world of work is evolving at lightning speed, and integration with new technologies only accelerates its evolutionary processes, the fate of which now seems to be unknown even to experts in the field.
As happened with the development of the Internet in the early 2000s, what will be most important will be to adapt to change and not cling to the canonical schoolbook information, embracing progress instead.
In this regard, in a recent interview, Sam Altman expressed himself with a phrase representative of this philosophy:
“I don’t think we want to go backwards.”
