Want to scan your iris for Crypto? Sam Altman’s Orb is coming to the U.S.
OpenAI’s Sam Altman launched the World crypto project in 2023. Now it is coming to the U.S. with a bang.
This sci-fi initiative uses an orb that scans your iris to create a World ID. The company describes it as a “digital travel document.”
You get free World (WLD), cryptocurrency in return for signing up. You can add more later or use the currency whenever you want. Your World ID allows you to sign in anonymously and authenticate for web, mobile and decentralized apps. The project is a bid to build a financial and social system that can address the challenges posed by AI.
World’s orb, which has been scanning iris scans for the past two years in over a dozen countries including the U.K. Japan, Germany Spain and India, has been doing this since the beginning of the year. Altman’s company announced at a special event held on Wednesday night that people in the U.S. can register as well.
Rich Heley, World executive, said that a newer, smaller and more advanced orb would be rolled out in the U.S. as well as globally starting today. By the end of this year, 7,500 orbs are expected to be scanning iris in the U.S. at locations that are within easy reach of 180 million Americans.
How does it work?
Heley gave a sneak preview of its new self verification system, where you can set up a WorldID yourself in coffee shops and convenience store using an orb.
WorldID product manager Tawanda Mahere demonstrated on stage. The self-verification procedure began by pairing the orb to his phone. This involved scanning the QR codes on his World app. The device scanned Mahere’s iris when he was facing the orb. In a matter of seconds, Mahere received a small gift of WLD cryptocurrency tokens for his efforts. Heley explained that the first step is to verify that Mahere is a human. “Then, it informs him that his data will be sent only to his device so he can control it. And then it reminds him that all of his data are being deleted from orb.” Want to sign up for the newsletter?
Orbs will begin to be available in select locations across the U.S. starting Thursday. These include San Francisco World Flagship Space, located at 281 Geary St, Austin World Space, located at 417 2nd St, Austin, Texas, Los Angeles World Flagship Space, at 8585 Melrose Ave in West Hollywood, and Miami World Flagship Space, at 257 NW 24th St, Miami, Florida.
Some people are excited about the idea of a global digital identity that is secure and safe, while others are concerned about privacy, surveillance and how biometric data will be handled. World has stated that it does not store raw eye images, and uses cryptography to safeguard people’s identities.
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