Top all-time · #1027
World
Company blog · worldcoin.org/blogaisecurity
World is the company blog at worldcoin.org, writing about ai and security. Since 2021, 64 different Hacker News readers have linked it 95 times, most often “Worldcoin”. No feed was found, so read it on the site itself.
Rarely recommended · 4 of 40 sampled comments recommend it, 3 are critical?
Why HN links it
HN readers link worldcoin.org as the primary source for the project's claims: how the Orb iris scan produces proofs of uniqueness, its privacy design, World ID, and its how-it-works and privacy pages.
- Recommended for · 4 comments
- Described as explaining the concept in detail, its privacy page as describing how proof of uniqueness works without tying iris hashes to wallets, and worth a lo
- Criticised for · 3 comments
- One commenter says a claim of not collecting biometric data is contradicted by the collection it describes; another took the how-it-works page for satire; anoth
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 40 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
World ensures that every human benefits from the age of AI. Join millions of real humans in 160 countries with World ID and World App.
Most-linked posts?
- Worldcoin10 people · 12 mentions · first linked 2021-06-29
- /how-it-works7 people · 7 mentions · first linked 2021-10-21
- Worldcoin – Sam Altman and Alex Blania6 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2023-07-24
- Worldcoin6 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2023-01-19
- Humanness in the Age of AI5 people · 9 mentions · first linked 2023-03-31
- /privacy-during-field-testing4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2021-10-26
- /privacy-by-design3 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2021-10-21
- Worldcoin Foundation open sources core components of the Orb's software3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2024-03-22
- /world-id3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2023-11-28
- A look inside Worldcoin’s biometric imaging device2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2023-01-27
What Hacker News says?
He does not seem out of touch to you? He recently announced WorldCoin [0]: > To address it, we built a new device called the Orb. It solves the problem through biometrics: the Orb captures an image of a person’s eyes, which is converted into a short numeric code, making it possible to check whether the person has signed up already. If not, they receive their free share of Worldcoin. He thinks that launching a global…
Comment linking /
on “I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears”Submitted Worldcoin as a story · 105 points
HN discussionAll iris hashes are publicly saved, but not linked to wallets. Details here: https://worldcoin.org/how-it-works#crypto (Account Privacy section)
Comment linking /how-it-works
on “Edward Snowden Slams Sam Altman's Worldcoin: 'Don't Catalogue Eyeballs'”Submitted Zero Knowledge Machine Learning as a story · 6 points
HN discussionThe wallet and iris hash are never linked. The privacy properties of a Worldcoin wallet are identical to an Ethereum wallet (i.e. pseudonymous until you doxx yourself). See https://worldcoin.org/how-it-works#crypto
Comment linking /how-it-works
on “Edward Snowden Slams Sam Altman's Worldcoin: 'Don't Catalogue Eyeballs'”Submitted 5P: Privacy-Preserving Proof-of-Personhood Protocol as a story · 5 points
HN discussion>I have to wonder why they went with retinal scanning in this case. They didn't. It's an iris scan. The article just used "retina" and "iris" interchangeably for some reason. https://worldcoin.org/how-it-works
Comment linking /how-it-works
on “Edward Snowden Slams Sam Altman's Worldcoin: 'Don't Catalogue Eyeballs'”Submitted Worldcoin Foundation unveils new SMPC system, deletes old iris codes as a story · 4 points
HN discussion> https://worldcoin.org/privacy-during-field-testing >We collect the following data through the Orb after the user gives us their consent: Images of users’ body, face, and eyes, including users’ irises (visible, near infrared and far infrared spectrum) Three-dimensional mapping of users’ body and face
Comment linking /privacy-during-field-testing
on “Edward Snowden Slams Sam Altman's Worldcoin: 'Don't Catalogue Eyeballs'”Submitted Worldcoin Foundation open sources core components of the Orb's software as a story · 3 points
HN discussionThe retinal scan is used to issue a e-ticket (identical for everyone) which allows you to create an account and then the scan is immediately discarded. The scan is in no way tied to your account at any time. Many of the comments here would be better informed by reading how this process works. There are issues to discuss, but a lot of what's in these threads has nothing to do with the actual workings of the project.…
Comment linking /privacy-by-design
on “Edward Snowden Slams Sam Altman's Worldcoin: 'Don't Catalogue Eyeballs'”Submitted An introduction to zero-knowledge machine learning as a story · 3 points
HN discussionThat's only true if everything works perfectly and they're also able to solve some unsolved problems. This is why, for the current phase, they're scanning and storing people's bodies, faces, eyes, and other metadata. See this page: https://worldcoin.org/privacy-during-field-testing We collect the following data through the Orb after the user gives us their consent: Images of users’ body, face, and eyes, including us…
Comment linking /privacy-during-field-testing
on “Edward Snowden Slams Sam Altman's Worldcoin: 'Don't Catalogue Eyeballs'”Submitted World Chain as a story · 2 points
HN discussionI thought I'd look at the actual company after hearing about this. I'm just not a silicon valley person. Here's their how it works page - https://worldcoin.org/how-it-works . It includes a projection graph that has a scale in 500m user increments and 2 years. Then you have the real data: over 6 months they've signed up 120k users. Or to put it another way - their real data doesn't even appear on the scale that their…
Comment linking /how-it-works
on “Edward Snowden Slams Sam Altman's Worldcoin: 'Don't Catalogue Eyeballs'”Submitted Worldcoin Open Sources the Orb's Software as a story · 2 points
HN discussionFurthermore, according to https://worldcoin.org/how-it-works , it seems the billionaires are planning on enriching themselves by exploiting individuals in some of the poorer nations first (Chile, Kenya, Indonesia, Sudan). (According to GDP per capita at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)... , Chile is 80, Indonesia is 132, Kenya is 176, and Sudan is 181.)
Comment linking /how-it-works
on “Edward Snowden Slams Sam Altman's Worldcoin: 'Don't Catalogue Eyeballs'”Submitted Worldcoin as a story · 2 points
HN discussionWorldcoin | Berlin & San Francisco | Onsite & Remote | Full Time | Embedded Systems | IoT Software | Cloud Security | https://worldcoin.org/ Worldcoin is a new, collectively-owned global currency that will be distributed fairly to as many people as possible. Worldcoin is built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, and is focused on decentralizing trust, preserving privacy, and scaling globally. People can claim their f…
Comment linking /careers
on “Ask HN: Who is hiring? (January 2022)”Submitted Worldcoin – Sam Altman and Alex Blania as a story · 2 points
HN discussionExcept as the article states based on quotes and leaked presentations, they are collecting the data. The page you linked confirms it. You might be right that their aspiration is to not collect biometric data, but they are collecting it and that’s what this article is about: Worldcoin collecting 500,000 people’s biometric data. “Images of users’ body, face, and eyes, including users’ irises (visible, near infrared an…
Comment linking /privacy-during-field-testing
on “Sam Altman’s Worldcoin promised them free crypto for an eyeball scan”Submitted Essential Facts about Worldcoin as a story · 1 points
HN discussionWorldcoin isn't an effort to accumulate biometric data — Clear (the private company that competes with TSA PreCheck) does this at most airports in the US. Instead, Worldcoin uses sophisticated cryptography[1] specifically to avoid the collection of biometric data. The value appears to be in the ability to resist the Sybil problem[2] with this cryptographic proof of uniqueness[3] as well as the wide distribution of t…
Comment linking /privacy-by-design
on “Sam Altman’s Worldcoin promised them free crypto for an eyeball scan”Submitted Find your nearest Orb and verify your World ID as a story · 1 points
HN discussionYou could read their website, which explains their concept in detail: https://worldcoin.org/
Comment linking /
on “Sam Altman’s Worldcoin promised them free crypto for an eyeball scan”Submitted Introducing Worldcoin as a story · 1 points
HN discussionWhat's with the orb gimmick - a spherical metal camera? Why not use a normal camera? Slurping up biometric data, on the promise of free money - lol PS Apparently the orb is for: Our approach relies on a custom biometric device - we call it the Orb - that verifies the uniqueness of a person through iris recognition, while ensuring their privacy through zero-knowledge cryptography. https://worldcoin.org/how-the-launch…
Comment linking /how-the-launch-works
on “Sam Altman’s Worldcoin promised them free crypto for an eyeball scan”Submitted World Coin as a story · 1 points
HN discussionWorldcoin | Berlin & San Francisco | Onsite & Remote | Full Time | Embedded Systems | IoT Software | Cloud Security | https://worldcoin.org Worldcoin is a new, collectively-owned global currency that will be distributed fairly to as many people as possible. Worldcoin is built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, and is focused on decentralizing trust, preserving privacy, and scaling globally. People can claim their fr…
Comment linking /careers
on “Ask HN: Who is hiring? (December 2021)”Submitted Worldcoin Launch as a story · 1 points
HN discussion
