Global: OpenAI’s Sam Altman Unveils Worldcoin Crypto Project with World ID

Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has been officially launched, introducing its innovative “World ID” feature, described as a “digital passport” to verify real humans versus AI bots. To obtain a World ID, users must undergo an in-person iris scan using Worldcoin’s ‘orb,’ a silver ball approximately the size of a bowling ball, which confirms the individual’s authenticity.

Tools for Humanity, based in San Francisco and Berlin, is the company responsible for developing Worldcoin.

During its beta phase, the project garnered 2 million users, and with its recent launch, Worldcoin is expanding its “orbing” operations to 35 cities across 20 countries. In select countries, users signing up will receive Worldcoin’s cryptocurrency token, WLD, as an incentive.

WLD’s price experienced a surge in early trading, reaching a peak of $5.29 on Binance, the world’s largest exchange. At 1000 GMT, it was trading at $2.49 from an initial price of $0.15, with a trading volume of $25.1 million, according to Binance’s website.

World IDs are stored on blockchains in a manner that preserves privacy and cannot be controlled or shut down by any single entity, as explained by co-founder Alex Blania in an interview with Reuters.

The project highlights the importance of World IDs in an era of generative AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, which produce language remarkably similar to human conversation. World IDs can be utilized to distinguish between real individuals and AI bots in online interactions.

In addition to addressing AI’s impact on society, Sam Altman believes Worldcoin can play a role in reshaping the economy. He envisions the potential for Universal Basic Income (UBI) to combat income inequality, considering AI’s increasing substitution of human labor. With World IDs designated exclusively for real people, it could help prevent fraud in the distribution of UBI.

Sam Altman acknowledged that the implementation of UBI may be a distant prospect, and he doesn’t have a concrete plan for the entity responsible for distributing funds. However, he sees Worldcoin as a stepping stone towards exploring innovative solutions for the future.

“We think that we need to start experimenting with things so we can figure out what to do,” Altman stated.