Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, launched today.
The central feature of the project is the World ID, referred to by the company as a “digital passport,” designed to authenticate individuals as genuine humans rather than AI bots. To obtain a World ID, customers undergo an in-person iris scan using Worldcoin’s ‘orb,’ a spherical device comparable in size to a bowling ball. Following the successful verification of the iris scan, the World ID is generated.
The company behind Worldcoin is San Francisco and Berlin-based Tools for Humanity.
The project has 2 million users from its beta period, and with Monday’s launch, Worldcoin is scaling up “orbing” operations to 35 cities in 20 countries. As an enticement, those who sign up in certain countries will receive Worldcoin’s cryptocurrency token WLD.
Coin pumping
WLD’s price rose in early trading on Monday. On the world’s largest exchange, Binance, it hit a peak of $5.29 and at 1000 GMT was at $2.49 from a starting price of $0.15, having seen $25.1 million of trading volume, according to Binance’s website.
The project emphasizes the significance of World IDs in the era of advanced generative AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, which possess the ability to produce remarkably human-like language. World IDs can serve as a means to distinguish between authentic individuals and AI bots in online interactions.
According to co-founder Alex Blania’s statement to Reuters, blockchains have the capability to securely store World IDs while maintaining privacy, and they cannot be manipulated or deactivated by any single entity.
Additionally, Altman informed Reuters that Worldcoin has the potential to contribute to the resolution of economic challenges brought about by generative AI, further highlighting its broader impact on the economy.
UBI
One example Altman likes is universal basic income, or UBI, a social benefits program usually run by governments where every individual is entitled to payments. Because AI “will do more and more of the work that people now do,” Altman believes UBI can help to combat income inequality. Since only real people can have World IDs, it could be used to reduce fraud when deploying UBI.
