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Worldcoin Says Will Allow Companies, Governments to Use Its ID System
Worldcoin will expand its operations to sign up more users globally and aims to allow other organizations to use its iris-scanning and identity-verifying technology, a senior manager for the company behind the project told Reuters.
Co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Worldcoin launched last week, requiring users to give their iris scans in exchange for a digital ID and, in some countries, free cryptocurrency as part of plans to create an “identity and financial network.”
In sign-up sites around the world, people have been getting their faces scanned by a shiny spherical “orb”, shrugging off privacy campaigners’ concerns that the biometric data could be misused. Worldcoin says 2.2 million have signed up, mostly during a trial period over the last two years. Data watchdogs in Britain, France and Germany have said they are looking into the project.
Worldcoin raised $115 million from venture capital investors including Blockchain Capital, a16z crypto, Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global in a funding round in May.
Rainer Rehak, a researcher on AI and society at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin said that Worldcoin’s use of technology is “irresponsible” and that it is not clear what problems it would solve.
‘Our Children Will Be Slaves’: Rob Schneider Unloads on Government Control
Actor Rob Schneider unloaded on the government in a lengthy social media post, arguing that politicians on both sides of the political aisle would eventually turn Americans and their children into “slaves” if they didn’t wake up to what was happening.
Schneider, who was outspoken in his criticism of COVID-related mandates and lockdowns, said that the government — including elected officials and unelected bureaucrats — was attempting to systematically strip power from the people instead of working for their benefit.
Schneider went on to say that it started with the children — and the fact that many were no longer being taught how their government was supposed to work or how they could influence the process.
ByteDance Sued for Allegedly Collecting Biometric Data Without Consent
ByteDance is facing a class-action lawsuit over claims that its CapCut video-editing app is vacuuming up data from its more than 200 million active users without consent. Among other things, the lawsuit, which was filed in Illinois, claims that CapCut violates the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by collecting data like face scans and voiceprints without informing users or getting express permission.
The app also allegedly collects details about a user’s location, date of birth and gender as well as their photos and videos. Much of this is said to be in service of delivering targeted ads. In addition, the suit claims that the app is capable of harvesting data from user devices, including the MAC address and SIM serial number.
The lawsuit, which The Record unearthed, asserts that CapCut’s privacy policy was designed to make it hard for people to understand or to give the app “meaningful, express consent.” One plaintiff who started using the app while in the seventh grade was allegedly able to use CapCut without having to sign up for an account, review a privacy policy or have parental consent.
ByteDance, of course, owns TikTok, which has long been the subject of claims that the Chinese government can access U.S. user data. The company has been trying to convince U.S. regulators that TikTok doesn’t pose a threat to national security. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew claimed at a congressional hearing earlier this year that “ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country.”
Kenya Suspends Sam Altman’s Eyeball-Scanning Crypto Project
Kenya is pumping the brakes on Worldcoin — the eyeball-scanning crypto project launched by OpenAI founder Sam Altman. The Kenyan government has ordered Worldcoin to stop collecting data in the country while it reviews the project for potential privacy and security risks, as reported earlier by Reuters.
Worldcoin is a project that uses your iris to create a unique digital identity, which you can then link to digital currencies managed through the company’s World App. The project launched last week and has had people lining up to get their eyeballs scanned by the shiny, silver orbs Worldcoin has set up in major cities around the globe.
In a press release, the Communications Authority of Kenya says it’s going to evaluate Worldcoin due to a “lack of clarity on the security and storage” of the iris scans it’s collecting as well as the “uncertainty” surrounding the attached cryptocurrency. It also takes issue with Worldcoin offering people incentives to get their irises scanned.
Connected Car Data Privacy Under Investigation by California Regulator
How automakers make use of data collected by connected cars is coming under scrutiny in California. On Monday, the California Privacy Protection Agency announced that it will review the data privacy practices of connected vehicle manufacturers. The agency is empowered to do so thanks to a 2018 state law, the California Consumer Privacy Act.
“Modern vehicles are effectively connected computers on wheels. They’re able to collect a wealth of information via built-in apps, sensors, and cameras, which can monitor people both inside and near the vehicle,” said Ashkan Soltani, CPPA’s executive director.
Connected cars are fast becoming ubiquitous — it may well be impossible to buy a new car, truck, or SUV in 2023 that doesn’t have at least one embedded modem in it. In the mid-2010s, many OEMs saw dollar signs at the prospect of monetizing data collected by their deployed vehicle fleets, and unlike with cell phones, it can be hard or impossible to disable location tracking in one’s car.
“Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, geolocation is considered personal information. People have the right to say no to being tracked in their cars, but it is unclear if car companies are providing this right,” said Justin Kloczko, a privacy advocate at Consumer Watchdog. “These companies know more about us than we know about ourselves, and they’re the ones in control of our personal information, not us,” Kloczko said.
AI Could Power the U.S. Economy as Investment in the Sector Is Poised to Hit $200 Billion by 2025, Goldman Sachs Says
Artificial intelligence could end up powering a bigger share of the U.S. economy, as investment in the sector is set to balloon in the coming years, according to Goldman Sachs.
The bank’s economists predicted AI-related investments could hit $100 billion in the U.S. by 2025, while global AI-related investments hit $200 billion that same year.
That’s thanks to the rapid growth in interest in artificial intelligence, with the virality of ChatGPT gripping the attention of Wall Street investors. This year, 16% of Russell 3000 firms have mentioned AI in their earnings calls, the bank said, up from 1% of firms that mentioned AI prior to 2016.
Investment in the AI sector could account for up to 4% of GDP in the U.S. by 2025 and 2.5% of GDP in other countries that are leading AI development, the bank estimated.
Judge ‘Reverses’ Health System’s Decision to Fire Worker Over COVID Vaccine, Orders Back Pay
A judge has reversed a decision from the University of Virginia Health System to fire a woman after she chose not to take the COVID vaccine and applied for a religious exemption.
Virginia District Judge Claude V. Worrell ruled last week that the UVA Health System had wrongfully terminated Kaycee McCoy, a cytotechnologist there for more than 10 years, according to court documents. Worrell ruled that McCoy should be given back pay with interest from the time she was fired to the time of his decision.
McCoy, who aided in screening cancer cells and other pathological conditions, was fired in November 2021 after she applied for a religious exception to the COVID vaccine with a letter from her pastor. Her application was denied, and she was given no opportunity to appeal, according to Worrell’s decision.
While the judge said that religious rights were not absolute, the health system should have allowed a religious exemption in this case because she had shown evidence of her “sincerely held religious beliefs that allowed her to seek an exception.”
‘Never Seen Anything Like It’: Sniper Who Left Military Over COVID Policy Since Found ‘Unconstitutional’
The non-binding decision made by a Canadian military tribunal could result in a flood of new lawsuits against the federal government and reopen a divisive debate over vaccine mandates, a legal expert says.
The Military Grievances External Review Committee (MGERC) recently found that the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine policy within the Canadian Armed Forces may have violated the Charter rights of some members.
More than 400 military members were fired or quit after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic, and 157 of those cases were referred to the committee by the chief of defense staff (CDS) for review.
In at least three of the cases so far, the committee found that portions of the CAF vaccination policy and its COVID-19 directives may have contravened the Charter rights of soldiers who refused to be vaccinated.
