E50: Alex Blania on Worldcoin, AGI, and Future Predictions

This week on Upstream, Erik is joined by Alex Blania, who, with Sam Altman, co-founded Tools for Humanity, the organizarion behind Worldcoin. Erik and Alex go deep on Worldcoin, AGI, and other future tech. To get Brave: Head to https://brave.com/brave-ads/ and mention “MoZ” when signing up for a 25% discount on your first campaign. -- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Sourcery by Molly O'Shea Sourcery by Molly O’Shea brings the conversations founders and investors have behind closed doors into the light. Subscribe for upcoming episodes with: Delian Asparouhov of Founders Fund and Varda Space, and Chris Power of Hadrian. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Ni3Tese9CtZa3oxpCjgTg YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SourceryVC -- SPONSOR: BEEHIIV | BRAVE | SQUAD Head to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox.  🐝to https://Beehiiv.com and use code "UPSTREAM" for 20% off your first three months. Get first-party targeting with Brave’s private ad platform: cookieless and future proof ad formats for all your business needs. Performance meets privacy. Head to https://brave.com/brave-ads/ and mention “MoZ” when signing up for a 25% discount on your first campaign. 💥 Access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to choosesquad.com and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist. -- LINKS: Worldcoin: https://worldcoin.org/ -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:16) WorldCoin: From AI to Cryptocurrency (06:02) Solving the Proof of Identity Problem (10:11) The Orb: A Revolutionary Biometric Device for WorldCoin (12:53) Sponsor - Brave | (13:58) Turpentine Ad (14:36) Addressing Privacy Concerns and Misunderstandings of WorldCoin (15:50) WorldCoin as the Largest Financial Network (17:06) Navigating Controversies and the Future of WorldCoin (20:05) On Building WorldCoin (25:56) Engaging with Governments and the Global Landscape (28:29) Safeguarding WorldCoin and the Influence of Vitalik Buterin (31:10) Partnerships, Lessons from Sam Altman, and AGI's Future (38:06) Exploring Other Game-Changing Technologies (42:14) WrapX / TWITTER: @alexblania (Alex) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @upstream__pod @turpentinemedia -- Upstream is a production from Turpentine Producer: Sam Kaufman Editor: Eul Jose Lacierda