Sam Altman’s eye-scanning orbs have arrived, sparking curiosity and fear
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- A San Francisco start-up backed by Sam Altman uses iris scans to verify human identity without requiring users to supply personal information, such as, their names, emails and phone numbers.
- But some experts are skeptical and contend that handing over biometric data is too risky, citing data privacy concerns.
SAN FRANCISCO — This month, a mysterious store selling a vision of the future opened its doors in downtown San Francisco’s Union Square district.
A cryptic message appeared on the storefront window: “World is the real human network. Anonymous proof of human and universally inclusive finance for the age of AI. Millions of humans in over 160 countries. Now available in the USA.”
The store attracted a small crowd and curious onlookers. People took turns scanning their eyes by peering into white devices known as orbs — to prove they are human. Then they received, free of charge, a verified World ID they could use to log in to online services and apps. As a bonus, participants were given some Worldcoin cryptocurrency tokens.
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Some just observed from a distance.
“I’m afraid to walk inside,” said Brian Klein, 66, as he peered into the window on his way to the theater. “I don’t want that thing taking any of my data and biometric scanning me.”
The futuristic technology is the creation of a startup called Tools for Humanity, which is based in San Francisco and Munich, Germany. Founded in 2019 by Alex Blania and Sam Altman — the entrepreneur known for OpenAI’s ChatGPT — the tech company says it’s “building for humans in the age of AI.”
In theory, these iris scans offer a safe and convenient way for consumers to verify their human identity at a time when AI-powered tools can easily create fake audio and images of people.
“We wanted a way to make sure that humans stayed special and essential in a world where the internet was going to have lots of AI-driven content,” said Altman, the chairman of Tools for Humanity, at a glitzy event in San Francisco last month.
Like the early stages of Facebook and PayPal, World is still in a growth phase, trying to lure enough customers to its network to eventually build a viable service.
A chief draw, World says, is that people can verify their humanness at an orb without providing personal information, such as their names, emails, phone numbers and social media profiles.
But some are skeptical, contending that handing over biometric data is too risky. They cite instances in which companies have reported data breaches or filed for bankruptcy, such as DNA research firm 23andMe.
The direct-to-consumer DNA testing service 23andMe filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, putting millions of customers’ genetic information up for sale.
“You can’t get new eyeballs. I don’t care what this company says. Biometric data like these retinal scans will get out. Hacks and leaks happen all the time,” said Justin Kloczko, a tech and privacy advocate at Consumer Watchdog. “Your eyeballs are going to be like gold to these thieves.”
1. An orb. 2. Frankie Reina, of West Hollywood, gets an eye scan. 3. A woman is reflected in an orb while getting an eye scan. 4. Frankie Reina waits to be verified after getting an eye scan. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
World has been making waves in Asia, Europe, South America and Central America. More than 12 million people have verified themselves through the orbs and roughly 26 million have downloaded the World app, on which people store their World ID and digital assets and access other tools, the company says.
Now, World is setting its sights on the United States. The World app says people can claim up to 39 Worldcoin tokens, worth up to $45.49 if a user verifies they’re human with an orb.
World plans to deploy 7,500 orbs throughout the U.S. this year. It’s opening up spaces where people can scan their eyes in six cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Nashville and Austin, Texas. The L.A. space opened on Melrose Avenue last week.
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Backed by well-known venture capital firms including Bain Capital, Menlo Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, Tools for Humanity raised $240 million as of March, according to PitchBook.
The crypto eye-scanning project has stirred up plenty of buzz but also controversy.
In places outside the United States, including Hong Kong, Spain, Portugal, Indonesia, South Korea and Kenya, regulators have scrutinized the effort because of data privacy concerns.
Edward Snowden, who leaked classified details of the U.S. government’s mass surveillance program, responded to Altman’s post about the project in 2021 by saying “the human body is not a ticket-punch.”
Ashkan Soltani, the former executive director of the California Privacy Protection Agency, said privacy risks can outweigh the benefits of handing over biometric data.
“Even if companies don’t store raw biometric data, like retina scans, the derived identifiers are immutable … and permanently linked to the individuals they were captured from,” he said in an email.
World executives counter that the orb captures photos of a person’s face and eyes, but doesn’t store any of that data. To receive a verified World ID, people can choose to send their iris image to their phone and the data are encrypted, meaning that the company can’t view or access the information.
The idea for World began five years ago. Before the popularity of ChatGPT ignited an AI frenzy, Altman was on a walk with Blania in San Francisco talking about how trust would work in an age when AI systems would be smarter than humans.
“The initial ideas were very crazy, then we came down to one that was just a little bit crazy, which became World,” Altman said onstage at an event about World’s U.S. debut at Fort Mason, a former Army post in San Francisco.
At the event, tech workers, influencers and even California Gov. Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie wandered in and out of a large building filled with orbs, refreshments and entertainment.
Tools for Humanity Chief Executive Blania highlighted three ways people could use their verified World ID: gaming, dating and social media.
Currently, online services use a variety of ways to confirm people’s identities including video selfies, phone numbers, government-issued IDs and two-factor authentication.
World recently teamed up with gaming company Razer, based in Irvine and Singapore, to verify that customers are human through a single sign-on, and is placing orbs in Razer stores.
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Blania also touted a partnership with Match Group, under which people can use World to verify themselves and their ages on apps such as Tinder, an effort that will be tested in Japan.
“We think the internet as a whole will need a proof of human and one space that I’m personally most excited about will be social,” Blania said at the San Francisco event.
At the World store in San Francisco, Zachary Sussman was eager to check out the orbs with his two friends, both in their 20s.
“For me, the more ‘Black Mirror’ the technology is, the more likely I am to use it,” Sussman said, referring to the popular Netflix sci-fi series. “I like the dystopian aesthetic.”
Doug Colaizzo, 35, checked out the store with his daughter and parents. Colaizzo, a developer, described himself as an “early adopter” of technology. He already uses his fingerprint to unlock his front door and his smartphone to pay for items.
“We need a better way of identifying humans,” he said. “I support this idea, even if this is not going to be the one that wins.”
Andras Cser, vice president and principal analyst of security and risk management at Forrester Research, said the fact that people have to go to a store to scan their eyes could limit adoption.
World is building a gadget called the “mini Orb” that’s the size of a smartphone, but convincing people to carry a separate device around also will be an uphill battle, he said.
“There’s big-time hype with a ton of customer friction and privacy problems,” he said.
The company will have to convince skeptics such as Klein to hand over their biometric data. The San Francisco resident is more cautious, especially after he had to delete his DNA data from 23andMe because the company filed for bankruptcy.
“I’m not going to go off and live in the wilderness by myself,” he said. “Eventually, I might have to, but I’m going to resist as much as I can.”
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