Malaysians can now use Worldcoin technology to prove they are human, according to a statement released on Friday.
According to a blog post, the WorldCoin Foundation and Tools for Humanity have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malaysian government.
“As part of the MoU, the new Worldcoin initiative in Malaysia will provide individuals with access to individual human identity verification using cutting-edge iris imaging technology developed by Tools for Humanity for the Worldcoin project,” the statement said.
The core of the Worldcoin project is the founders’ goal of preserving the future health of the Internet by establishing a means of distinguishing between human and non-human agents. Individuals are assigned a World ID after proving their humanness by consenting to an iris scan. Sign-ups are rewarded with cryptocurrency in the form of WLD tokens.
The project has been criticized for privacy concerns, but has recently established relationships with several countries, including Austria.
“The Worldcoin Foundation will work to ensure that the technology is open source and freely available,” the statement said Friday.
WorldCoin has received significant attention as the project’s main proponent, Tools for Humanity, was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
As part of this newly signed MOU, both the Worldcoin project and the Malaysian government will explore the possibility of collaborating to manufacture the orbs used to create iris scans. The two parties will also consider “bridging” Worldcoin’s World Chain protocol with Malaysia’s own blockchain infrastructure.
The official signing of the memorandum of understanding, announced Friday, was by Malaysia’s “applied research and development arm,” MIMOS Berhad. The new deal has likely been in the works for months, after Altman and his Tools for Humanity co-founder Alex Blania met with Malaysian officials in April.
A memorandum of understanding signals that the different parties are interested in cooperating, but is not legally binding.
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