Worldcoin: big promises, big problems

If you’ve heard of Worldcoin, it is probably because of one thing. It’s not the fact it’s the “exciting” new crypto project from Open AI CEO Sam Altman. Not even the company’s bold aspirations to create a more accessible and inclusive global financial system. 

No, if you’ve heard about Worldcoin, it’s probably for exactly one reason. They’re the company that wants to scan your eyeball.

“The design is very human” - a real person in Silicon Valley, probably

So what’s going on here?

In short, Altman’s new multimillion dollar ($115M Series C) side hustle has a very specific, interesting goal: Worldcoin wants to be the biometric proof of personhood that underlies a new financial system. 

Is that all?

How it works (Pay no attention to the man behind the spherical robot)

So what’s the deal is with the big metal sphere on a stick?

Basically, what’s going on is Worldcoin’s Orb is an open-source piece of custom hardware which scans your iris. It then uses that iris scan to verify that you are (in fact) a human being. And not, for example, just a very handsome AI. It uses the iris scan to generate a unique “hash” (The crypto word for math). And this hash in turn is used to generate cryptocurrency “Worldcoin”.

This robot is giving Hal9000 meets WallE, spiced with a desperate hunger to be human, the thing it was built to understand, but doomed never to be

You receive 25 Worldcoin when you turn up to a physical location for a scan. With the current price-per-coin hovering around $1.50, that seems like a pretty easy way to make a cool $75. Although you can only access this Worldcoin “grant” over time, in a series of weekly installments eerily similar to an equity vesting schedule. 

Frankly I get the “delayed distribution” approach from a customer stickiness and cash flow management perspective. But it does feel like it puts a weird tinge on aspirations of decentralization, ease-of-use, or accessibility.

The Vision: “Come with me if you want to live”

The other thing that’s important to know is, at least in writing, the founders have talked about Worldcoin as “a potential path to AI-funded UBI”. 

(That’s a “universal basic income”, a system where everyone gets a minimum monthly payment to live off of. For those of you not up on the newest public policy slang, bruh) 

A lot of commentators have been talking about the UBI part of the project. It’s ambitious. It’s different. And it’s a solution that aligns with big concerns about the trajectory of AI and technology in general. 

But it’s still early days for Worldcoin, and details are slim. Very slim.

I get that the UBI thing is a long-term vision, not a current aim while the project’s still in infancy. But I did think it was interesting that I couldn't find a single mention of “universal basic income” or “ubi” on the company’s blog. Despite the fact it’s mentioned in the opening paragraph of a letter from its cofounders. 

We don’t need all the details yet, but if you’re selling a vision for a new economic system, I think it’s reasonable for people to want a bit of explanation.

“Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” - not the Worldcoin Comms team

Why I’m skeptical

If you couldn’t tell from the article so far, I’m not really sold on this. 

And I know, I’m at risk of becoming one of those people who naysays every crypto company. But I’m not fundamentally against crypto. And I think blockchain in general has huge potential as a foundational technology to enable innovations in IoT and cybersecurity. But what I don’t like about a lot of crypto projects is the baseless ambition, and a fundamental lack of need for the product.

Every company sells a story. And you have to swing big. I get that. 

But there’s a common trope I often warn aspirational founders about: 

Everyone thinks your job as an entrepreneur is to sell investors on the idea of what your company will be in the future, and the network effects it will create.

That’s not how it works. 

In reality, the best business idea is something that solves a basic need. It creates value right now. Most crypto companies don’t do that. Worldcoin doesn’t do that.

It’s hard to understand how Worldcoin works. And that’s definitely gonna get in the way if your goal is widespread adoption as a standard for human verification. 

For example: 

I was trying to understand how the actual Worldcoin token works. Can I buy it on the open market? Or can I only get it by scanning my eyeball?

So I turn to the company’s FAQ. Where I find a page “Where can I purchase WLD?”

Awesome. Exactly what I’m looking for. 

But then in the middle of the page I see this language:

“To check which centralized wallets and exchanges support OP mainnet, take a look at the list provided by the OP mainnet help center…WBTC and WETH are wrapped, tokenized versions of cryptocurrencies that are pegged to the value of the original coin and can be unwrapped at any point.”

Is it just me, or is that complete nonsense? I have absolutely no idea what that means.

Quickly. Here’s a few other things I don’t like about the project:

• On the front page of the website it says: “For more human access to the global economy, the first World ID compatible wallet.” World ID isn’t an established protocol or UN system. It’s something Worldcoin built. That’s like saying Walmart is the first company to give users access to the Walmart loyalty program

• Orbs are run by local operators  separate from Worldcoin corporate and are paid in WLD. Is franchise “corporate scrip” really the foundation for our new economy?

• Operators can also opt to be paid in “fiat currency”. And the fact Worldcoin refuses to just call that cash is kind of hilarious

• Requiring hardware and physical interaction for onboarding is a huge obstacle to growth and virality

• If you’re actually trying to build a decentralized financial system. Lots of companies are already doing that. And they don’t use expensive hardware

• Government ID’s exist and they verify identities pretty well already

• The US dollar exists and is globally fungible as a medium of exchange

Long story short, I don’t think this Worldcoin thing is gonna work out. So if you’re waiting on your first crypto UBI payment. I’d probably get a job instead.

But, if all these questions about privacy, technology, and society have peaked your interest. You’re in luck! Because I’ve partnered with Lauren Gibson at Know Thy Technology, where she’s done an excellent writeup on Worldcoin, diving deeper on some of the thorny issues we didn’t have time to tackle here. Give it a read!

Until next time. This has been,

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