21-05-2025
Japan introduces eye-scan device to foil AI impersonators
Japan has started use of an eye-scan technology to help block AI-generated impersonators often used in online fraud. It has been introduced at various locations around the country.
A start-up led by ChatGPT architect Sam Altman developed the technology.
The device is about the size of a human head. It scans the iris and issues an encrypted ID for storage in a smartphone app to prove an individual is human.
The company says the system, known as World ID, can be used in financial, social-networking and other services.
It aims to set up 7,500 of the iris-scanners in the United States by the end of the year. It hopes to install about 1,000 in Japan.
"The times may come when no online information can be trusted," said Makino Tomoe, the head of the start-up's Japan operation. "To solve such a situation, we need a service that can identify real humans."
The company says the data collected is encrypted and deleted immediately from the device.
However, the system has raised privacy concerns. The New York Times reports the technology has been banned in some areas, including Hong Kong and Spain.
