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Mexico is one of nearly three dozen countries where participants
are allowing the sphere, outfitted with cameras and dubbed an
orb, to scan their iris. The project's goal is to distinguish
people from bots online, while doling out a cryptocurrency bonus
as a incentive to participate.
The so-called Worldcoin project is a biometric verification tool
led by Sam Altman, the chief executive of Open AI, and the
crypto company he co-founded, Tools for Humanity.
"(Privacy) is something that doesn't worry me too much," said
Jose Incera, after allowing his iris to be scanned in exchange
for the equivalent of nearly $54 in Worldcoin's cryptocurrency.
"In the digital era we're living in, sharing your information is
unavoidable."
In a video interview, Sam Sadle, the public policy chief at
Tools for Humanity, sought to calm worries over the project's
use of personal data.
After the orb scanner captures each user's iris, it converts the
image into a unique numerical code called an iris code, which
Sadle stressed can only be used to prove the user's identity.
"The point of the iris biometrics is simply to confirm that
you're human," he said. "The image on default is deleted and the
only piece that is kept is the iris code."
Despite the professed safeguards, the project has generated
concerns over security risks, including from Agneris Sampieri, a
policy analyst with digital rights group Access Now.
"They don't clearly mention the time frame in which the
biometric data they collect will be processed and retained," she
said, adding that the ownership of the iris code is also
unclear.
(Reporting by Anna Portella; Writing by David Alire Garcia;
Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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