Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has published a long-form essay sharing his thoughts on the recently launched Worldcoin human identity verification system. In his article, Buterin discusses the concept of proof-of-humanity, which Worldcoin and other identity solutions like Proof of Humanity, BrightID, Idenam, and Circles are exploring.
These systems believe that with the advancement of artificial intelligence, it will become increasingly challenging to distinguish between humans and machines. They argue that digital verification of humans, like the Worldcoin token, is essential to combat spam, concentration of power, and the need for a universal basic income to counter bot activity.
Buterin acknowledges the value of such proof-of-personhood systems in addressing anti-spam and anti-concentration-of-power issues. He also highlights the importance of decentralization and minimal disclosure of personal information to avoid dependence on centralized authorities.
However, Buterin also points out major concerns surrounding these solutions, including privacy, accessibility, centralization within the Worldcoin Foundation, and security.
Worldcoin faced a small scare on June 27, but it was quickly clarified after thousands of Safe deployments to Optimism raised speculation of an attack.
Buterin calls for community accountability, audits, checks, and balances in designing and implementing such systems. He envisions three different approaches to proof-of-personhood that could potentially be combined in a hybrid manner.
As of July 14, sign-ups for Worldcoin’s World ID surpassed 2 million, reflecting significant interest in the system even before its official launch.
Buterin emphasizes the challenges and complexity involved in designing effective proof-of-personhood solutions, but he underscores the importance of avoiding a world dominated by centralized identity solutions, money, small closed communities, or a combination of all three.
As of July 14, before the official launch of Worldcoin’s World ID system, the number of sign-ups had already exceeded 2 million. Notably, this milestone was achieved in less than half the time it took to reach the first million sign-ups. The significant interest and rapid growth in user registrations demonstrate a high level of anticipation and curiosity surrounding the World ID system and its potential implications for identity verification and digital currency adoption.
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