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Vitalik Buterin has reservations about Sam Altman’s World project
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is expressing concerns over the potential privacy risks associated with Sam Altman’s World project. The organization, previously known as Worldcoin, aims to create a digital identification system using zero-knowledge proofs and blockchain technology.
In a lengthy post, Buterin acknowledged that on the surface, the approach of ZK-wrapped digital IDs could contribute to protecting social media, voting, and other online services from manipulation by AI agents and bots. However, he emphasized that this would still result in a “one-per-person” ID system, which raises significant risks.
Buterin argued that such a system would eliminate the possibility of pseudonymity, as users would be forced to maintain a single public identity. He pointed out a recent example where the US government required student and scholar visa applicants to make their social media profiles public, so it could screen those accounts for “hostility.” Similarly, he suggested that even if there is no direct link between different accounts created under a single digital ID, a government could still force an individual to reveal their secret identity.
Instead, Buterin advocated for the adoption of a pluralistic identity system. This approach would allow multiple authorities to verify identities, rather than relying on a single dominant issuing authority. He suggested that these systems can either be explicit, requesting users to verify their identity through testimonials from already-verified individuals, or implicit, leveraging various other identity systems.
Buterin’s concerns highlight the ongoing debates surrounding digital identification and privacy in the rapidly evolving space of decentralized technologies.
Source: techcrunch.com
