Like the retina-scanning mini-bots in the sci-fi film “Minority Report,” Sam Altman’s latest venture wants to distinguish between human and artificial intelligence (AI)/bots.
The otherworldly startup World (formerly Worldcoin), a financial public utility and identity system that aims to “accelerate every human in the age of AI,” opened its first U.S. flagship retail store in San Francisco last week. Within the location in the city’s Union Square is the company’s proof of human technology (PoH) in the form of an Orb, a gadget that can “verify humanness” by scanning eyeballs.
Orbs scan a person’s retina to verify they are human. Once confirmed, World creates a digital ID for users, distinguishing them from a bot or AI program that can mimic human behavior — often for nefarious purposes. An individual’s so-called “World ID” is stored in the World App as a “privacy-preserving digital passport,” according to the company. The Orb doesn’t store biometric data.
The new flagship location will provide “more humans access to secure, privacy-preserving PoH technology in the age of AI to distinguish between bots and humans online,” a company spokesperson said.
Orbs are being rolled out in stores in five other U.S. cities besides San Francisco: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami and Nashville, as well as at gaming retailer Razer.
The technology’s U.S. debut follows a controversial launch overseas in 2023. The government of Kenya shut down the service over privacy concerns and security breaches of the system that led to user names and passwords being stolen, according to an Associated Press report. Officials shuttered World for similar reasons in Spain and Hong Kong.
Nonetheless, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, and his Silicon Valley backers are pressing on with the human-verification service in the U.S. to establish “proof of personhood” to differentiate between humans and bots impersonating people in everything from finance to online dating.
World’s ties to cryptocurrencies – its app includes a digital wallet that gives people access to decentralized finance and cryptocurrencies – is ripe for U.S. expansion, Altman & Co. contend.
They anticipate looser crypto regulations under the Trump Administration; President Donald Trump has vowed to turn the nation into the cryptocurrency capital of the world, with a “crypto strategic reserve.”
