加密货币曾经在金融领域的炒作热度大多已经被人工智能所占据。如今有一个项目试图将两种技术结合起来。该项目被称为世界币(Worldcoin),旨在为人工智能机器人与人类变得更加难以区分的世界构建一个全球性的数字身份网络。这一服务的用户通过扫描眼球来创建数字证书,并获得世界币代币奖励——不过美国公民无法获得这种加密货币。目前已有超过200万人注册了世界身份(World ID),这反映出世界币的创新报酬机制具有相当的吸引力,而其创始人之一山姆·奥特曼也有着良好的声誉。山姆·奥特曼是著名ChatGPT聊天机器人服务开发商OpenAI的首席执行官。然而,国际监管机构早期的审查以及一些数据安全问题却引发了争议,并且有可能会减缓世界币的发展势头。
1.什么是世界币?
该项目使用了一个称之为“眼球”(orb)的设备——它看起来像一个神奇8号球,但更大且呈银色——来扫描人的虹膜(像指纹一样,每个人的虹膜也都有独特的图案)。这样就会创建一个世界身份,为持有者提供“人格证明”,使其可以在接受各种在线服务时验证自己的身份,而不会暴露姓名或其他个人数据。世界币同时也是用于奖励进行眼球扫描或支持该项目用户的加密货币的名称。世界币基金会(Worldcoin Foundation)被列为世界币技术的管理机构,但其组织者表示,这一技术没有所有者或股东,世界币代币的持有者对该项目的发展方向拥有发言权。世界币还是一家名为Tools for Humanity Corp.的科技公司的下属机构,但该公司表示它的“成立是为了加速世界币向更公平的经济体系的过渡”。
2.世界币为何如此令人兴奋?
世界币有望融合两个当下最热门的金融趋势:人工智能和加密货币。有观点认为,随着人工智能越来越普及,为了区分人类和AI驱动的智能软件,世界身份的需求将会增大。另一个重要原因是该项目有ChatGPT代言人奥特曼的参与。2022年11月,人工智能聊天机器人面市,自此便激起了公众对人工智能潜力的想象。
3.世界币引发了什么争议?
目前有几个方面存在争议。其一,世界币正在创建代币来酬报扫描眼球的参与者(不包括美国及其他被排除在外的国家的公民)。其次,该项目早期的几位投资者在去年的加密货币崩盘中受到了牵连,其中包括FTX创始人萨姆·班克曼·弗里德,现在他正被软禁在家并且面临欺诈指控。麻省理工科技评论(MIT Technology Review)的一项调查显示,有证据表明,世界币采取了所谓的具有欺骗性和剥削性的措施来吸引印度尼西亚、加纳和智利等国的参与者。这一项目正受到欧洲的审查,因其收集生物识别数据的做法可能违反了一些国家的隐私法。此外,一些世界币运营商在注册新用户时被盗取登录凭证以及黑市销售世界身份的问题也层出不穷。对此,世界币表示已经升级了安全系统。
4.有人使用世界币吗?
截至7月底,世界币已经为210多万人注册并创建了数字身份,尽管其中绝大多数身份证书都是在7月24日世界币正式上线之前发行的。相关的加密货币价格出现了波动。正式上线当天,世界币代币的价格几乎翻了一番,高达3.58美元,不过一周后又跌至1.92美元的低位。但CoinMarketCap的数据显示,世界币的总市值在7月31日仍达到了2.67亿美元。
5.山姆·奥特曼是谁?
38岁的奥特曼是一位经验丰富的企业家。除了领导OpenAI之外,他还长期担任创业加速器Y Combinator的总裁,而且还投资了爱彼迎(Airbnb)、Stripe、多宝箱(Dropbox)和Instacart等公司。此外,奥特曼还是智能手机定位服务商Loopt的联合创始人。
6.为何美国公民无法获得世界币代币?
奥特曼表示,世界币不会给美国及其他一些加密货币监管法规摇摆不定或暧昧不明的国家的公民提供代币。事实上,近几年除世界币外还有众多加密货币项目选择避开美国市场,因为美国的监管者和立法者至今没有明确哪些代币应该归类为证券,哪些不应该。美国证券交易委员会(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)的主席加里·根斯勒很早就表示大部分代币都属于证券。但一起备受关注的法律案件中,法官却在今年7月裁定Ripple Labs Inc.的XRP币代币只有在出售给机构投资者时才属于证券,而通过交易所出售给散户投资者时则不属于。这使得该问题悬而未决。更多的诉讼和监管举措肯定会随之而来,因此加密货币的发行者面临着不确定性。(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-刘嘉欢
加密货币曾经在金融领域的炒作热度大多已经被人工智能所占据。如今有一个项目试图将两种技术结合起来。该项目被称为世界币(Worldcoin),旨在为人工智能机器人与人类变得更加难以区分的世界构建一个全球性的数字身份网络。这一服务的用户通过扫描眼球来创建数字证书,并获得世界币代币奖励——不过美国公民无法获得这种加密货币。目前已有超过200万人注册了世界身份(World ID),这反映出世界币的创新报酬机制具有相当的吸引力,而其创始人之一山姆·奥特曼也有着良好的声誉。山姆·奥特曼是著名ChatGPT聊天机器人服务开发商OpenAI的首席执行官。然而,国际监管机构早期的审查以及一些数据安全问题却引发了争议,并且有可能会减缓世界币的发展势头。
1.什么是世界币?
该项目使用了一个称之为“眼球”(orb)的设备——它看起来像一个神奇8号球,但更大且呈银色——来扫描人的虹膜(像指纹一样,每个人的虹膜也都有独特的图案)。这样就会创建一个世界身份,为持有者提供“人格证明”,使其可以在接受各种在线服务时验证自己的身份,而不会暴露姓名或其他个人数据。世界币同时也是用于奖励进行眼球扫描或支持该项目用户的加密货币的名称。世界币基金会(Worldcoin Foundation)被列为世界币技术的管理机构,但其组织者表示,这一技术没有所有者或股东,世界币代币的持有者对该项目的发展方向拥有发言权。世界币还是一家名为Tools for Humanity Corp.的科技公司的下属机构,但该公司表示它的“成立是为了加速世界币向更公平的经济体系的过渡”。
2.世界币为何如此令人兴奋?
世界币有望融合两个当下最热门的金融趋势:人工智能和加密货币。有观点认为,随着人工智能越来越普及,为了区分人类和AI驱动的智能软件,世界身份的需求将会增大。另一个重要原因是该项目有ChatGPT代言人奥特曼的参与。2022年11月,人工智能聊天机器人面市,自此便激起了公众对人工智能潜力的想象。
3.世界币引发了什么争议?
目前有几个方面存在争议。其一,世界币正在创建代币来酬报扫描眼球的参与者(不包括美国及其他被排除在外的国家的公民)。其次,该项目早期的几位投资者在去年的加密货币崩盘中受到了牵连,其中包括FTX创始人萨姆·班克曼·弗里德,现在他正被软禁在家并且面临欺诈指控。麻省理工科技评论(MIT Technology Review)的一项调查显示,有证据表明,世界币采取了所谓的具有欺骗性和剥削性的措施来吸引印度尼西亚、加纳和智利等国的参与者。这一项目正受到欧洲的审查,因其收集生物识别数据的做法可能违反了一些国家的隐私法。此外,一些世界币运营商在注册新用户时被盗取登录凭证以及黑市销售世界身份的问题也层出不穷。对此,世界币表示已经升级了安全系统。
4.有人使用世界币吗?
截至7月底,世界币已经为210多万人注册并创建了数字身份,尽管其中绝大多数身份证书都是在7月24日世界币正式上线之前发行的。相关的加密货币价格出现了波动。正式上线当天,世界币代币的价格几乎翻了一番,高达3.58美元,不过一周后又跌至1.92美元的低位。但CoinMarketCap的数据显示,世界币的总市值在7月31日仍达到了2.67亿美元。
5.山姆·奥特曼是谁?
38岁的奥特曼是一位经验丰富的企业家。除了领导OpenAI之外,他还长期担任创业加速器Y Combinator的总裁,而且还投资了爱彼迎(Airbnb)、Stripe、多宝箱(Dropbox)和Instacart等公司。此外,奥特曼还是智能手机定位服务商Loopt的联合创始人。
6.为何美国公民无法获得世界币代币?
奥特曼表示,世界币不会给美国及其他一些加密货币监管法规摇摆不定或暧昧不明的国家的公民提供代币。事实上,近几年除世界币外还有众多加密货币项目选择避开美国市场,因为美国的监管者和立法者至今没有明确哪些代币应该归类为证券,哪些不应该。美国证券交易委员会(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)的主席加里·根斯勒很早就表示大部分代币都属于证券。但一起备受关注的法律案件中,法官却在今年7月裁定Ripple Labs Inc.的XRP币代币只有在出售给机构投资者时才属于证券,而通过交易所出售给散户投资者时则不属于。这使得该问题悬而未决。更多的诉讼和监管举措肯定会随之而来,因此加密货币的发行者面临着不确定性。(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-刘嘉欢
Artificial intelligence has taken over much of the financial hype cycle that used to belong to cryptocurrency. Now comes a project that’s trying to combine the two. Called Worldcoin, it’s an effort to create a global network of digital identities for a world in which AI robots become harder to distinguish from humans. Users of the service scan their eyeballs to create digital credentials and are rewarded with Worldcoin tokens — though the cryptocurrency isn’t available in the US. More than 2 million people have signed up for a World ID, a reflection of the novel compensation model and the reputation of one of its founders, Sam Altman, the chief executive officer of OpenAI, which created the popular ChatGPT chatbot service. But early scrutiny by international regulators and some data security problems have stirred controversy and threatened to slow Worldcoin’s momentum.
1. What is Worldcoin?
The project uses a device called an “orb” — which looks like a Magic 8 Ball but bigger and silver-colored — to scan a person’s iris, which has a unique pattern in every human much as a fingerprint does. That creates a World ID, which grants its holders “proof of personhood” — a way to verify their identities on various online services without disclosing their name or other personal data. Worldcoin is also the name of the cryptocurrency that’s used to reward people who scan their eyeballs or who support the project. The Worldcoin Foundation is listed as the steward of the technology, but the organizers say that it has no owners or shareholders and that holders of Worldcoin tokens will have a say in the direction of the project. Worldcoin is also affiliated with a tech company called Tools for Humanity Corp. that says it was “established to accelerate the transition towards a more just economic system.”
2. Why is there so much excitement about Worldcoin?
Worldcoin is promising to link two of the hottest contemporary financial trends: artificial intelligence and crypto. As AI becomes more popular, the argument goes, World ID will become more needed, to help distinguish between humans and AI-powered smart software. Another big reason for the build-up is the involvement of Altman, who’s the public face of ChatGPT. The AI chatbot was introduced in November 2022 and ignited the public’s imagination about what artificial intelligence can do.
3. What’s the controversy with Worldcoin?
There are several. One is that it’s creating tokens to compensate participants outside the US and the other excluded countries who scan their iris. Also, several of the project’s early backers were swept up in last year’s crypto collapse, including FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who’s under house arrest and facing fraud charges. An MIT Technology Review investigation found evidence of what it called deceptive and exploitative practices used by Worldcoin to attract participants in countries such as Indonesia, Ghana and Chile. The project is being scrutinized in Europe for its collection of biometric data, which may run afoul of some countries’ privacy laws. There have also been issues with the theft of login credentials from some Worldcoin operators who were signing up new users, and with black-market sales of World IDs. Worldcoin said it upgraded its security in response.
4. Is anyone using it?
The project had registered and created digital identities for more than 2.1 million people by the end of July, though the vast majority of those were issued before the official July 24 launch. The related cryptocurrency has fluctuated. The price of a Worldcoin token roughly doubled on that day to as high as $3.58 before dropping to as low as $1.92 a week later. But Worldcoin still had a total market capitalization of $267 million on July 31, according to CoinMarketCap.
5. Who is Sam Altman?
Altman, 38, is a seasoned entrepreneur. In addition to leading OpenAI, he was the longtime president of Y Combinator, the startup accelerator, and has investments in Airbnb, Stripe, Dropbox and Instacart. He also co-founded Loopt, a smartphone-location service.
6. Why are Worldcoin tokens not available in the US?
Altman has said the project wouldn’t offer tokens in the US and in some other countries where the regulatory rules regarding crypto were either uncertain or unclear. Indeed, Worldcoin is among many crypto projects that have chosen to stay out of the US market in recent years as US regulators and lawmakers continue to grapple with which coins are classified securities and which ones aren’t. Gary Gensler, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, had long said that most coins were securities. But in a closely followed legal case, a judge ruled in July that Ripple Labs Inc.’s XRP token is a security only when it’s sold to institutional investors but not when it’s sold to retail investors via exchanges. That left the matter unsettled. More litigation and regulation are sure to follow, leaving crypto issuers with uncertainty.