6 ms·

Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Crypto Project Officially Launches

37 points by flyaway123 3y ago

pearjuice 3y ago
https://archive.is/hejHt https://archive.is/hejHt Non-paywall link
- thedrbrian 3y ago
  and for some reason archive.is doesn't work on my MacBook
  - Loveaway 3y ago
    it's a problem with private relay, works if you turn it off
mikelovenotwar 3y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36843469 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36843469
- ztacn 3y ago
  This submission contains unapproved thoughts, so it dropped like a rock.
  - 3327 3y ago
    Yeah its yc right. Sam has to approve
surume 3y ago
This idea needs to die in the womb.
- black_13 3y ago
  [dead]
- DonHopkins 3y ago
  So it kills the host.
m00dy 3y ago
cool, Can we say HN is crypto friendly now ?
- blitzar 3y ago
  I would say worldcoin ranks somewhere slightly above monkey nfts, slightly below dog coins round these parts. Sam Altman himself ranks very very slightly above the Sam Bankman Fried
  - smartplaya2001 3y ago
    wow lol. I had a chuckle at this
louwrentius 3y ago
This project has always been beyond sociopathic. Scanning retinas with an orb, it’s beyond absurdity. An example of late stage capitalism. Also read this: https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/06/1048981/worldcoin-cryptocurrency-biometrics-web3 https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/06/1048981/worldcoi... I’m bummed to see this guy also runs OpenAI. I’ve decided not to use GPT for this reason no matter what the consequences may be.
- fbn79 3y ago
  What's the danger of scanning the retina with orb vs scanning your finger prints with iPhone? It's not clear to me
  - vhlhvjcov 3y ago
    Hypothesis: There is a visceral reaction to having light shone in your eyes and imagining light being shone in your eyes. There is a perception of danger to the eyes from scanning vs danger from finger print scans. Also on a more emotional level, eyes are seen as the place where true emotion is shown. “Look into my eyes and tell you aren’t lying” Having your eyes scanned therefore feels more intimate, meaning a higher barrier to acceptance.
  - agos 3y ago
    Apple has a somewhat proven track record on privacy (if only because it's one of their biggest selling points) Sam Altman has a track record of saying we should protect hate speech otherwise the Bay Area is worse than China.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- chargingmarmot 3y ago
  It seems ironic to make this statement on news.ycombinator.com: you do realize that Sam Altman was also president of Y Combinator some time, right? It's interesting how eye scanning seems so Orwellian and potentially oppressive even though the intention was to use it to support an extremely leftist goal (universal basic income).
HeckFeck 3y ago
I'm sure this coin will just soar in value and be really different from the thousands of others and achieve world adoption. Buy in now lest ye be consumed with FOMO.
- blitzar 3y ago
  I lack the FOMO gene.
heyitsguay 3y ago
Love seeing the posters for this, plastered across the decaying facades of abandoned buildings on Mission St, amidst the ragged people and "street vendors". It seems like a fitting place to advertise the project.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
uLogMicheal 3y ago
A few days ago OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT driven verification with their discord of 1.7M people, threatening to kick everyone who does not connect their accounts. Now Worldcoin is here to add identity to their web of integrations. How long until Worldcoin verification is a req to use ChatGPT? Can almost bet identity is going to be a big part of the "safety" push they are lobbying for. Obligatory "safety" is not moderation and moderation should not be censorship. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/06/10/business/tech/artificial-intelligence-rules-china-openai/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/06/10/business/tech/a... China should play a key role in shaping the artificial intelligence guardrails needed to ensure the safety of transformative new systems, OpenAI Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said.
- gremlinsinc 3y ago
  Can't have an A.I. dystopia without thought police, and a Ministry of Truth, and those fall apart without a nice surveillance apparatus.
ilyt 3y ago
> “Crypto is hopefully a label that will get dropped over the coming years anyways, and it’s just essentially the technology that you use to build certain products,” "We don't like our scam to be put with other scams under common, people might figure it is is scam too fast"
glimshe 3y ago
Another Silicon Valley power trip. What happened to wanting to solve a problem really well, like building great cars or better microprocessors? These days everybody wants to be Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Elon Musk and have a grand vision for how people live their lives with technology. One big problem here is that ChatGPT is a great advancement, but the AI problem is far from "solved". I know this project is a few years old already, but it looks like the wrong moment for Sam Altman to spread himself thin.
- davidivadavid 3y ago
  But Sam Altman doesn't have a hint of vision. He just vaguely waxes poetical about how "the price of intelligence" is going to go down and then... what exactly? What's so interesting that's going to happen? He has no idea. His endeavors aren't driven by any kind of articulated vision. Probably uses a cop like "well things after the Singularity are unpredictable!!" Oh so that means they're going to be good, right? Right?
  - choppaface 3y ago
    It’s not lack of vision but rather his experience in grifting https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loopt https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loopt
Merilelife 3y ago
That just reads very very delusional to me. Is this again we're very rich people are so disconnected from the world that they don't see the issues? At least this stuff further adds to the decentralized nature of Blockchains. Now everyone uses their own Blockchain at least when you read how many new projects add to this.
0xbadc0de5 3y ago
Another shitcoin designed to separate fools from their money.
yashg 3y ago
So this Sam Altman is just another snake oil salesman?
- louwrentius 3y ago
  This is true for the whole VC HN stuff anyway. “Palo Alto” by Malcolm Harris should be mandatory reading for the HN crowd.
  - yashg 3y ago
    Really disappointing. I thought this guy had built a really useful product in ChatGPT, but now that he comes across as just another crypto grifter, I wonder how much of ChatGPT euphoria was of substance and how much was just hype.

37 points by flyaway123 3y ago

pearjuice 3y ago

https://archive.is/hejHt https://archive.is/hejHt Non-paywall link

thedrbrian 3y ago
and for some reason archive.is doesn't work on my MacBook
- Loveaway 3y ago
  it's a problem with private relay, works if you turn it off

mikelovenotwar 3y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36843469 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36843469

ztacn 3y ago
This submission contains unapproved thoughts, so it dropped like a rock.
- 3327 3y ago
  Yeah its yc right. Sam has to approve

surume 3y ago

This idea needs to die in the womb.

black_13 3y ago
[dead]
DonHopkins 3y ago
So it kills the host.

m00dy 3y ago

cool, Can we say HN is crypto friendly now ?

blitzar 3y ago
I would say worldcoin ranks somewhere slightly above monkey nfts, slightly below dog coins round these parts. Sam Altman himself ranks very very slightly above the Sam Bankman Fried
- smartplaya2001 3y ago
  wow lol. I had a chuckle at this

louwrentius 3y ago

This project has always been beyond sociopathic. Scanning retinas with an orb, it’s beyond absurdity. An example of late stage capitalism. Also read this: https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/06/1048981/worldcoin-cryptocurrency-biometrics-web3 https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/06/1048981/worldcoi... I’m bummed to see this guy also runs OpenAI. I’ve decided not to use GPT for this reason no matter what the consequences may be.

fbn79 3y ago
What's the danger of scanning the retina with orb vs scanning your finger prints with iPhone? It's not clear to me
- vhlhvjcov 3y ago
  Hypothesis: There is a visceral reaction to having light shone in your eyes and imagining light being shone in your eyes. There is a perception of danger to the eyes from scanning vs danger from finger print scans. Also on a more emotional level, eyes are seen as the place where true emotion is shown. “Look into my eyes and tell you aren’t lying” Having your eyes scanned therefore feels more intimate, meaning a higher barrier to acceptance.
- agos 3y ago
  Apple has a somewhat proven track record on privacy (if only because it's one of their biggest selling points) Sam Altman has a track record of saying we should protect hate speech otherwise the Bay Area is worse than China.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
chargingmarmot 3y ago
It seems ironic to make this statement on news.ycombinator.com: you do realize that Sam Altman was also president of Y Combinator some time, right? It's interesting how eye scanning seems so Orwellian and potentially oppressive even though the intention was to use it to support an extremely leftist goal (universal basic income).

HeckFeck 3y ago

I'm sure this coin will just soar in value and be really different from the thousands of others and achieve world adoption. Buy in now lest ye be consumed with FOMO.

blitzar 3y ago
I lack the FOMO gene.

heyitsguay 3y ago

Love seeing the posters for this, plastered across the decaying facades of abandoned buildings on Mission St, amidst the ragged people and "street vendors". It seems like a fitting place to advertise the project.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

uLogMicheal 3y ago

A few days ago OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT driven verification with their discord of 1.7M people, threatening to kick everyone who does not connect their accounts. Now Worldcoin is here to add identity to their web of integrations. How long until Worldcoin verification is a req to use ChatGPT? Can almost bet identity is going to be a big part of the "safety" push they are lobbying for. Obligatory "safety" is not moderation and moderation should not be censorship. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/06/10/business/tech/artificial-intelligence-rules-china-openai/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/06/10/business/tech/a... China should play a key role in shaping the artificial intelligence guardrails needed to ensure the safety of transformative new systems, OpenAI Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said.

gremlinsinc 3y ago
Can't have an A.I. dystopia without thought police, and a Ministry of Truth, and those fall apart without a nice surveillance apparatus.

ilyt 3y ago

> “Crypto is hopefully a label that will get dropped over the coming years anyways, and it’s just essentially the technology that you use to build certain products,” "We don't like our scam to be put with other scams under common, people might figure it is is scam too fast"

glimshe 3y ago

Another Silicon Valley power trip. What happened to wanting to solve a problem really well, like building great cars or better microprocessors? These days everybody wants to be Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Elon Musk and have a grand vision for how people live their lives with technology. One big problem here is that ChatGPT is a great advancement, but the AI problem is far from "solved". I know this project is a few years old already, but it looks like the wrong moment for Sam Altman to spread himself thin.

davidivadavid 3y ago
But Sam Altman doesn't have a hint of vision. He just vaguely waxes poetical about how "the price of intelligence" is going to go down and then... what exactly? What's so interesting that's going to happen? He has no idea. His endeavors aren't driven by any kind of articulated vision. Probably uses a cop like "well things after the Singularity are unpredictable!!" Oh so that means they're going to be good, right? Right?
- choppaface 3y ago
  It’s not lack of vision but rather his experience in grifting https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loopt https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loopt

Merilelife 3y ago

That just reads very very delusional to me. Is this again we're very rich people are so disconnected from the world that they don't see the issues? At least this stuff further adds to the decentralized nature of Blockchains. Now everyone uses their own Blockchain at least when you read how many new projects add to this.

0xbadc0de5 3y ago

Another shitcoin designed to separate fools from their money.

yashg 3y ago

So this Sam Altman is just another snake oil salesman?

louwrentius 3y ago
This is true for the whole VC HN stuff anyway. “Palo Alto” by Malcolm Harris should be mandatory reading for the HN crowd.
- yashg 3y ago
  Really disappointing. I thought this guy had built a really useful product in ChatGPT, but now that he comes across as just another crypto grifter, I wonder how much of ChatGPT euphoria was of substance and how much was just hype.