It really does sound like something out of a sci-fi flick: Millions of people let a private company run by a billionaire scan their eyeballs in exchange for digital coins that the company promises will lead to a better future. If this were Hollywood, the next phase of the plot would involve a catastrophic hack or the company CEO turning evil and enslaving humanity.
Little wonder people are wary of Worldcoin, the startup that really is using a glass-like orb to collect millions of iris scans. But if you can get past the sci-fi caricatures, it's worth noting the project is making promising strides in trying to solve a very difficult problem: how to verify our online identities without giving up our privacy.
