OpenAI's Sam Altman launches Worldcoin crypto project, know why it wants your iris scan

Worldcoin, an innovative cryptocurrency project, was officially launched on Monday by its founder, Sam Altman, who also serves as the CEO of OpenAI. At the heart of this pioneering initiative lies the World ID, a revolutionary concept dubbed as a "digital passport" designed to establish the authenticity of its holder as a genuine human, rather than an AI bot. To obtain a World ID, individuals must undergo an in-person iris scan using a unique device called the 'orb,' a silver ball approximately the size of a bowling ball. The orb conducts an iris scan to verify the person's human identity, subsequently generating their exclusive World ID.

The driving force behind Worldcoin is the organisation known as Tools for Humanity, operating from both San Francisco and Berlin. With a substantial user base of 2 million from its beta phase, the project embarked on an ambitious mission to expand its "orbing" operations to 35 cities across 20 countries following Monday's launch. As a delightful incentive, early adopters in select countries will be rewarded with Worldcoin's cryptocurrency token, WLD.

Since its inception, the price of WLD has experienced remarkable growth. Trading on the world's largest exchange, Binance, saw the token peak at an impressive $5.29 during early trading on Monday. As of 1000 GMT, the price settled at $2.49, witnessing a significant surge from its initial value of $0.15. The cumulative trading volume reached an astonishing $25.1 million, according to data from Binance's website.

A key feature of Worldcoin is its utilisation of blockchain technology to store World IDs while preserving privacy and avoiding central control by any single entity. Co-founder Alex Blania emphasised the importance of this aspect during an interview with Reuters. He said that Worldcoin firmly believes that World IDs will play a vital role in the era of generative AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, which can produce eerily human-like language. These unique IDs are poised to serve as an effective differentiator between real individuals and AI bots in the vast expanse of the online world.

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In conversations with Reuters, Sam Altman expressed his belief that Worldcoin can significantly impact the reshaping of the economy in the wake of generative AI. He envisions a future where AI will substantially augment human capabilities, resulting in profound economic implications. Altman cites universal basic income (UBI) as one such example, a social benefits program where individuals are entitled to periodic payments. With AI taking over many human jobs, Altman sees UBI as a potential solution to combat income inequality. Furthermore, World IDs can act as a potent tool in reducing fraud when implementing UBI, as only genuine human users can possess these IDs.

"People will be supercharged by AI, which will have massive economic implications. We think that we need to start experimenting with things so we can figure out what to do,” he said.

While acknowledging that a world with UBI is likely far into the future and that the logistics of such a system remain unclear, Altman views Worldcoin as a foundational stepping stone toward making this vision a reality. By laying the groundwork for a secure and reliable identity verification system, Worldcoin is contributing to the development of a future where the potential benefits of AI can be harnessed to create a more equitable and inclusive society.

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