2024.09.05
AMCHAM to launch digital literacy campaign with Sam Altman-founded crypto firm
By SHIN HA-NEE, Korea JoongAng Daily - Tools for Humanity (TFH), a cryptocurrency developer co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, entered an agreement with the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) to form a joint educational campaign in the country.
Under the MOU, TFH
and Amcham will jointly launch the #IAmHuman campaign, which aims to enhance
digital literacy and raise awareness regarding personal identity protection and
digital trust.
Alex Blania, CEO and
co-founder of TFH, named Korea “one of the key markets” in the company’s global
expansion during a signing ceremony for the memorandum of understanding (MOU)
held in eastern Seoul on Tuesday.
“Korea is one of the technology capitals of the world and a very progressive country in many ways,” Blania said during a “fireside chat” with James Kim, chairman and CEO of AMCHAM, calling the nation “one of the key markets in the world to build a strong relationship with.”
“This MOU represents
a great partnership focused on promoting the protection of personal identity in
the AI-powered economy and fostering a business environment that benefits from
new technologies,” said the Amcham chairman in his remarks.
“Our collaboration
captured in the #IAmHuman campaign underscores our dedication to fostering an
environment that embraces technological advancement and ensures that they are
both ethically and inclusively used,” Kim added.
San Francisco-based
TFH, co-founded by Blania and Altman, launched the Worldcoin project — which
uses iris biometrics scanned by “Orb” devices to create a “World ID,” a digital
identity that verifies the holder as a human — last July. The project has achieved
6.6 million World ID sign-ups in more than 160 countries.
Blania characterized
the current AI-driven surge in online bots and deepfake content as “a truly
global problem” requiring international cooperation.
“One of the very
clear and obvious things that we will require on internet scale is a way to
verify humanness on our services — otherwise, many of the things that we care
about, [such as] social media, which is the way for us to act in our democracy
and to form our opinions, will be challenged,” said Blania, addressing the
rapid change that the recent drastic advances in AI technology have brought
about.
Blania also stated
that “blockchain technology, at its core, is likely to become a strong force
for good in economic freedom,” citing the increasing need for human
verification in online space and the potential of blockchain technology as the
rationale behind the launch of the Worldcoin project.
National Assembly
lawmakers, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party and Rep. Kang Hoon-sik
of the Democratic Party attended the signing ceremony.