- Sep 16, 2012
- 66,623
- 62,289
- 3,605
Stare into the orb, let them take your soul. . . in exchange for currency, you will have your soul enslaved!
(Here is the Bloomberg article.)
Cryptocurrencies
www.coindesk.com
". . . Based on what we know so far, Altman and the Worldcoin team seem to have hit on a way to make this appealing premise seem utterly dystopian. Users who want a Worldcoin account will have to register by scanning their unique retina pattern with an “orb” device that in its current form is the size of a basketball and costs $5,000 to make, according to Bloomberg.
This points to serious practical problems with the company’s plans, but let’s start with the larger issue – privacy. The thing about a retina print is that you can’t change it, so once it’s compromised that form of identity verification is invalid for you, forever. That makes it spectacularly and inherently risky for a private company to gather this kind of biometric data about everyone on Earth. Frankly, there’s a strong argument that it should be illegal until we have better data regulations in place (yes, I’m looking at you, Clear).
(Side note: If you’re starting a company that harvests data from people’s eyeballs in ways that could threaten privacy, don’t refer to your scanning device as an “orb.” It strongly implies the Eye of Sauron, Foucault’s Panopticon, the Saudi Intelligence Orb, Saruman’s palantir, and the for-profit spy firm named after it. In short, it’s creepy as hell. Sam, you can send my comms consulting fee via CoinDesk.)
Now, to its credit, Worldcoin has already said it won’t store iris scans as raw data, instead converting images into a “unique numerical code,” according to Bloomberg, and deleting source data. I take that to indicate some kind of hashing, similar to the transaction-batch hashes that link Bitcoin blocks.
But that leaves too many open questions. Most specifically, if Worldcoin moves its retina scans to a central server for hashing, it’s still far too risky to be justifiable, because data could be intercepted or stolen in the process. On-device hashing shouldn’t be incredibly computationally intensive, and the size and cost of the Worldcoin “orb” suggests that may be the plan. But it also seems likely that the device would be internet-connected, which would still leave it potentially vulnerable.. . . "
www.businessinsider.com
Worldcoin in exchange of your soul, first story here;
(Here is the Bloomberg article.)
Cryptocurrencies
Sam Altman Wants to Scan Your Eyeball in Exchange for Cryptocurrency
His startup Worldcoin is developing an orb-shaped device that can read a person’s iris.Opinion
Gaze Into the Orb to Collect Your Worldcoin
Gaze Into the Orb to Collect Your Worldcoin
Former Y Combinator head Sam Altman wants to trade your retina scan for cryptocurrency. The proposal raises serious privacy concerns.
". . . Based on what we know so far, Altman and the Worldcoin team seem to have hit on a way to make this appealing premise seem utterly dystopian. Users who want a Worldcoin account will have to register by scanning their unique retina pattern with an “orb” device that in its current form is the size of a basketball and costs $5,000 to make, according to Bloomberg.
This points to serious practical problems with the company’s plans, but let’s start with the larger issue – privacy. The thing about a retina print is that you can’t change it, so once it’s compromised that form of identity verification is invalid for you, forever. That makes it spectacularly and inherently risky for a private company to gather this kind of biometric data about everyone on Earth. Frankly, there’s a strong argument that it should be illegal until we have better data regulations in place (yes, I’m looking at you, Clear).
(Side note: If you’re starting a company that harvests data from people’s eyeballs in ways that could threaten privacy, don’t refer to your scanning device as an “orb.” It strongly implies the Eye of Sauron, Foucault’s Panopticon, the Saudi Intelligence Orb, Saruman’s palantir, and the for-profit spy firm named after it. In short, it’s creepy as hell. Sam, you can send my comms consulting fee via CoinDesk.)
Now, to its credit, Worldcoin has already said it won’t store iris scans as raw data, instead converting images into a “unique numerical code,” according to Bloomberg, and deleting source data. I take that to indicate some kind of hashing, similar to the transaction-batch hashes that link Bitcoin blocks.
But that leaves too many open questions. Most specifically, if Worldcoin moves its retina scans to a central server for hashing, it’s still far too risky to be justifiable, because data could be intercepted or stolen in the process. On-device hashing shouldn’t be incredibly computationally intensive, and the size and cost of the Worldcoin “orb” suggests that may be the plan. But it also seems likely that the device would be internet-connected, which would still leave it potentially vulnerable.. . . "
The sinister, glowing Saudi orb that Trump touched in a viral moment was given as a gift to the US, which then hid it out of embarrassment, new book says
The photo of Trump, the Saudi king, and the Egyptian president touching the orb in 2017 had prompted comparisons to three plotting supervillains.
www.businessinsider.com
Worldcoin in exchange of your soul, first story here;
~S~
