Sam Altman's iris-scanning World project wants a billion users - it's reached 2% of that goal

[midian182]

A hot potato: Not everything that Sam Altman touches is as successful as ChatGPT. The OpenAI boss' crypto-based World project – formerly called Worldcoin – has an ambitious plan to scan a billion people's eyeballs. But after several years and plenty of pushback, it's only reached 2% of that amount.

Blockchain/crypto-based World, part of Altman's Tools for Humanity startup, has a mission statement that sounds fairly unnerving: to "create a new identity & financial network owned by everyone."

World has received a lot of attention over its use of its Palantír-like Orbs that scan users' irises to confirm their identity, at which point a digital World ID is created that can be used pseudonymously in a wide variety of everyday applications.

World has a grand ambition of scanning a billion users. Business Insider reports that since the public launch in 2023, it has managed to hit just 2% of that target.

In fairness, that's still 17.5 million people who have handed over their biometric data, despite World being subject to regulatory scrutiny in many countries.

World was banned in Kenya a month after it launched. It has faced bans, suspensions, or serious regulatory orders in Spain, Hong Kong, Portugal, Indonesia, Germany (Bavaria), and Brazil, too. There have also been investigations carried out in South Korea and France, with privacy concerns the main reason behind these actions.

Portugal orders Sam Altman's Worldcoin to halt data collection https://t.co/xeqg0VHqPg

– Dr. Alexander Deicke (@AlexanderDeicke) April 3, 2024

Despite all the controversy, Tools for Humanity has a $2.5 billion valuation and attracted $240 million of investment from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz.

World is hoping to increase the number of eyeballs it scans by acting as an identity-verification contractor for some of the world most popular apps.

The company has announced a pilot program with Match Group to verify Tinder users in Japan and partnerships with companies like Stripe, Visa, and Razer. Reddit has also been in talks with Tools for Humanity to verify that its users are unique individuals, which sounds like a plan that wouldn't be welcomed by anyone.

World's Orb uses infrared cameras and depth sensors to capture a detailed image of the eye, converts it into a unique digital code (an encrypted IrisHash), and checks this against a global database to ensure each person registers only once. If unique, the system issues a World ID, which can later prove someone is human without revealing their identity through zero-knowledge cryptography.

The Orb doesn't store personal details or, according to World, the raw images unless a user consents.

The irony that the man responsible for the generative AI revolution needs to build something that distinguishes humans from machines has not been lost. One former employee put it best with "He is creating the disease, but he also wants to create the cure."

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Sam Altman's iris-scanning World project wants a billion users – it's reached 2% of that goal

 

[MSIGamer]

No.

 

[BbN48]

There's no way they don't store the raw image or personal details.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Anyone who trusts Altman deserves to have everything leaked for the world to see.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Better than fingerprint or DNA testing People readily hand over DNA to profit making companies, and you can’t frame someone for a crime or do anything with it by using an image if their iris. Plus you have to get up close and personal to something to be identified by your iris. It’s either going to be intentional, or required by law enforcement.

The goal of this is go eliminate bots, by supplying an ID. I think that’s stupid. ID’s can be stolen and be used without your physical person. You’re better off finding a different use for it.

Law enforcement could be one purpose, but irises probably change by aging or getting cataracts. If they don’t, then it could be good to allow governments to communicate criminal records about individuals traveling internationally. But still, governments can (and do) lie and say someone might have no criminal record if it means they’re immigrating to a foreign country and won’t be their problem anymore. And what’s the point of doing this if you can keep fingerprint records just for criminals? Then you don’t need to track everyone’s biometrics lol.

Anyways, in the end I see no useful purpose for this.

 

[umeng2002]

People are so dumb to accept this sort of stuff. Police/ governments don't need the contents of your letters or phone calls or texts. They simply need the meta data. So these scanners might not "Store information," but they sure as hell will ping the cops when they see your iris walk by.

 

[McRuff]

So these scanners might not "Store information," but they sure as hell will ping the cops when they see your iris walk by.

This is not how it works. I think this IRIS scanning by a crypto bro is a terrible idea. But like your fingerprints, an iris cant be read by you walking past. Big Brother has no need to do this. Not when nearly everyone is carrying around a phone, which is as an excellent long range tracking device.