Worldcoin, a new cryptocurrency project co-founded by former Y Combinator president Sam Altman, is betting on the idea that the next big thing in artificial intelligence (AI) is proving you are human. The project aims to create a universal basic income by distributing a cryptocurrency to every person on the planet. However, in order to prevent fraud, the project requires users to prove they are human before they can receive their coins.

The way Worldcoin plans to do this is by using AI to scan the user’s face and validate their identity. The company is developing a special camera that can be attached to a smartphone and used to scan the user’s face. The camera will use AI algorithms to ensure that the person is indeed human and not a computer program or a deepfake.

Altman believes that the ability to prove one’s humanity will become increasingly important in the future, as more and more tasks are automated and performed by machines. “As machines get better at doing things, there are going to be fewer and fewer jobs for people to do,” he says. “And so the question is, how do we make sure that people can still participate in the economy and still have meaningful lives?”

Worldcoin’s solution is to provide everyone with a basic income, funded by the cryptocurrency, and to use AI to ensure that the system is not being abused by bots or other fraudulent actors. Altman acknowledges that the project is ambitious and faces many challenges, but he believes that it has the potential to make a real difference in people’s lives.

“This is a moonshot project,” he says. “But I think that if we can get it right, it could be one of the most important things we ever do as a species.”

In summary, Worldcoin, a new cryptocurrency project co-founded by Sam Altman, is betting on the idea that proving one’s humanity will become increasingly important in the future as automation takes over more jobs. The project aims to distribute a cryptocurrency to every person on the planet as a form of universal basic income, but requires users to prove they are human using AI face-scanning technology. While the project is ambitious and faces many challenges, Altman believes that it has the potential to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Via The Impactlab