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Worldcoin, a crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently announced that it is dropping the word “coin” from its name and that it will be “World” from now. Launched earlier this year in July, Altman said that over 2 million people from around the world had signed up for the platform.
The startup behind the World project named Tools for Humanity says it believes that advanced artificial intelligence systems will make it very hard to differentiate whether you are talking to a real human or an AI chatbot. To combat this very issue, World will offer “human verification services” using blockchain,
World says this can be done by an account called World ID, which will only be accessible to “real humans”. Unlike most cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Worldcoin (now World) does not require users to purchase using real-world currency but instead has a very interesting signup process.
To get the cryptocurrency, you will have to agree to scan your eyeball. This can be achieved by scanning a person’s iris to determine if they are real or not using a ball-like circular object called “Orb”. While this may sound exciting, various governments across the world have suspended the company’s operations over privacy concerns.
While the Altman-backed project made various announcements like a new app and blockchain, it was mostly for the 7 million people who signed up for the project. Tools for Humanity, the startup behind the World company also unveiled a next-generation Orb which says it is easier to manufacture, has fewer parts and offers three times more performance compared to the original one. With the government cracking down on World in various countries, the road ahead for World will be hard as it will have to cross various regulatory hurdles before it is able to convince people to sign up.
