chatGPT founder launches iris-scanning orb to tell humans apart from AI in crypto worldcoin

New cryptocurrency ‘worldcoin’ requires ‘the orb’

Sam Altman, Co-creator of ChatGPT and OpenAI, Alex Blania, Co-Founder of Tools for Humanity, and Max Novendstern, Co-founder of Worldcoin, introduce their cryptocurrency Worldcoin which uses a steel eyeball with camera sensors called Orb to detect humans from artificial intelligence and bots. Transacting on the dubbed democratized crypto world may have risks of people imitating other people’s accounts, biometrics, and faces – making the user vulnerable to attacks and hacks – so Worldcoin offers the Orb which uses multispectral sensors to verify if the user is a true human or not.

The custom biometric imaging device built for the Worldcoin project scans people’s iris to verify if they are real humans. It is easy to hold as it fits the palm and resembles a Magic 8 Ball without the shaking. Up close, the steel eyeball has two camera sensors and one camera, and the cryptocurrency team states that the camera is equipped with an electromagnetic spectrum to differentiate between fraudulent spoofing attempts and legitimate human interactions with a high degree of accuracy.

images courtesy of Worldcoin

steel eyeball with camera verifies humanness

Over the last six months of its beta phase, the Worldcoin project has verified the uniqueness and humanness of more than 40,000 individuals per week. The number bumps up the demand for the Orb to further help interested crypto fans to gain access to their unique ID. The tech team shares that the biometric device is and will be available in over 35 cities in more than 20 countries across five continents. They will keep amping up the delivery between now and the end of 2023, aiming to increase the number of available Orbs to 1,500 units throughout the summer and fall of 2023 in more than 35 cities around the world.

Whenever the user goes on Worldcoin and creates a transaction, they need to do it again since the Orb deletes all the images of the user’s iris per default but only remembers their biometrics. Sam Altman and Alex Blania opt for the iris since they say it is hard to modify compared to fingerprints. ‘Modifying fingerprints through cuts is easy, while imaging them accurately can be difficult, as the ridges and valleys can wear off over time,’ they say. ‘Therefore, based on the outlined trade-offs of different biometric modalities, iris recognition is the only one which is suitable for global verification of uniqueness in the context of the Worldcoin project.’

the steel eyeball with camera sensors called the Orb to detect humans from artificial intelligence and bots

How does Worldcoin cryptocurrency work?

Worldcoin is a new member of the cryptocurrency world that seems to pride itself on being a privacy-preserving global identity network. Its system revolves around World ID which users use to prove that they are real humans as they use the app and everything related to it. This unique ID enables users to fair airdrops, provides protection against bots and sybil attacks on social media, and allows for the fairer distribution of limited resources. Worldcoin states that World ID can also enable global democratic processes and novel forms of governance such as via quadratic voting, and it may eventually support a path to AI-funded universal basic income.

Crypto fans should first download World App, the first wallet software that facilitates the formation of a World ID, in order to participate in the Worldcoin system. People then hold knot their Orb to get their World ID Orb-verified. After it scans their iris, an Orb Operator, running under a network of independent local enterprises, will verify it and give the green light to the user after the process. Once the user has passed all the steps, they will be able to access the Worldcoin token, the first digital currency to be freely distributed to people for just being a unique human.

‘In the age of AI, the need for proof of personhood is no longer a topic of serious debate; instead, the critical question is whether or not the proof of personhood solutions we have can be privacy-first, decentralized and maximally inclusive,’ says Alex Blania. ‘Through its unique technology, Worldcoin aims to provide anyone in the world, regardless of background, geography or income, access to the growing digital and global economy in a privacy preserving and decentralized way.’

side view of the Orb