Latest news with #WorldID
Fox News
7 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Biometric iris scanning launches in US cities for digital identity
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, known for creating ChatGPT, has launched World, a project that uses an eye scan to prove you are a real person online. The idea is to help people stand out from bots and AI by creating a digital ID with a quick scan from a device called the Orb. While Altman says this technology keeps humans central as AI advances, it also raises serious concerns about privacy and the security of sensitive biometric data, with critics and regulators questioning how this information will be used and protected. World ID relies on a device called the Orb, a spherical scanner that captures a person's iris pattern to generate a unique IrisCode. It stores the code on a blockchain-based platform, ensuring that users can verify their identity without revealing personal details. Once scanned, individuals receive their World ID, which can be used for authentication across various platforms where the World ID protocol has been integrated, including Reddit, Telegram and Shopify. Additionally, those who sign up are rewarded with WLD cryptocurrency as an incentive. They get the equivalent of $40 worth of tokens, which they can spend, exchange or share with other World ID holders. World ID is currently available in Austin, Texas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Nashville, Tennessee, Miami and San Francisco, with plans to expand further. The company aims to deploy 7,500 Orb devices across the U.S. by the end of the year, targeting 180 million users. While the technology promises enhanced security, the debate over its privacy implications continues to grow. World ID has ambitious goals, but despite this, the project has faced significant backlash. Many people worry that storing eye scan data in a worldwide database could put their personal information at risk. Adding to the controversy, critics point out the irony of Sam Altman, whose company, OpenAI, contributes to the very AI challenges World ID aims to solve, being at the helm of this project. Governments in Spain, Argentina, Kenya and Hong Kong have either suspended or investigated the project due to concerns over excessive data collection. Furthermore, cybersecurity experts warn that once biometric data is linked to an identity system, it becomes irreversible, raising fears of potential surveillance. World ID helps prove that people online are real humans and not AI bots, something that is on the rise. In this AI-driven world, it can be an essential security measure to ensure the internet is a safer and more trustworthy place. Since the system is integrated with blockchain technology, it can definitely provide secure authentication across multiple platforms. However, the storage of sensitive biometric data in a global database will always raise concerns for many. Do you think the benefits of blockchain-based iris scanning technology outweigh its privacy implications? Let us know by writing us at For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Follow Kurt on his social channels: Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions: New from Kurt: Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
Arabian Post
26-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Post
Worldcoin Token Climbs Amidst Strategic Expansion and Investor Confidence
Worldcoin's native token, WLD, experienced a significant surge in value, climbing over 10% following a substantial $135 million fundraising round led by prominent venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto. This influx of capital underscores growing investor confidence in the project's vision of establishing a global, decentralised identity verification system. The fundraising success coincides with Worldcoin's strategic expansion into new markets. Notably, the introduction of its World ID verification system in Poland has garnered attention. Residents in Warsaw can now utilise the project's 'Orb' biometric device to verify their identities, a move aimed at enhancing digital interactions and privacy. This development aligns with Worldcoin's broader mission to differentiate humans from AI bots in the digital realm. Market analysts attribute the token's price surge to a combination of factors, including the successful fundraising, the expansion into Poland, and the broader adoption of Worldcoin's technologies. The token's trading volume also saw a notable increase, reflecting heightened investor interest. ADVERTISEMENT However, the project's rapid growth has not been without scrutiny. Regulatory bodies in various countries have raised concerns about privacy and data protection, leading to investigations and, in some cases, suspension of operations. Despite these challenges, Worldcoin continues to pursue its goal of creating a universal digital identity system, leveraging biometric technology and blockchain infrastructure.
Business Mayor
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Sam Altman's Worldcoin Raises $135 Million—WLD Token Jumps 15%
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed The highest standards in reporting and publishing Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio. Worldcoin's parent entity, the nonprofit World Foundation, has injected fresh momentum into its biometric-identity project after selling $135 million worth of liquid WLD tokens at spot price to two of its earliest backers, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Bain Capital Crypto. The direct purchase—explicitly 'not a venture round… a direct purchase of non-discounted liquid tokens,' according to the foundation—adds the same amount of WLD to circulating supply and leaves no lock-ups or preferential terms on the table. Worldcoin Rakes In $135 Million The sale is meant to bankroll a rapid expansion of Worldcoin's iris-scanning 'Orb' hardware in the United States—still the project's toughest regulatory theater—and to keep pace with surging demand abroad. 'To date, more than 26 million users participate in the World network and more than 12.5 million people have an Orb-verified World ID,' the foundation said in its press release, adding that the capital will help the network become 'one of the first self-sustaining protocols.' Related Reading Andreessen Horowitz's participation is consistent with its early role in the project. The venture firm was a lead investor in Tools for Humanity—the company that incubated Worldcoin—during its 2021 Series A, making it a foundational backer of the ecosystem even before the World Foundation was established. Market observers were struck by the size and terms of the buy. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan noted on X that 'a16z and Bain just bought $135 m of Worldcoin (WLD) at the current market price … a price that is down 90% over the past 14 months. I'm not sure I've ever seen something like that. Intriguing tbh.' When a user suggested the purchase might simply be a 'look at this thing that Sam Altman is involved with that's so cheap,' Hougan replied, 'yes, could be.' Worldcoin casts its 'proof-of-personhood' scheme as a necessary counterweight to the acceleration of artificial general intelligence. The foundation insists that identity verification tools 'should scale at a similar pace to help prepare humanity for the AGI era,' and says the latest funding will be deployed primarily to manufacture more Orbs, subsidize US city roll-outs, and refine the protocol's fee model. Related Reading With venture capital titans effectively doubling down at market price—and doing so after a near-90% drawdown—the trade is being interpreted as a high-conviction signal that the biometric-identity narrative may be poised for a second act. Whether that confidence can overcome regulatory headwinds and lingering privacy concerns will define the next chapter for Sam Altman's most controversial crypto experiment. WLD Chart Check A weekly chart of WLD/USDT (Binance) shows price rebounding in a V-bottom manner from the low at $0.57—the 0-Fib anchor in the current retracement grid—and pushing into the cluster of moving averages that have capped every rally since the beginning of the year. The 20-week EMA ($1.27) is the immediate hurdle; clearing it would expose the 50-week EMA at $1.87 and then the 0.236 Fibonacci retracement at $ psychologically weighty $5 region around the 0.382 level could come afterwards. Read More BNB Price Rebound Possible: Can It Climb Back to $720? Notably, momentum has brightened: the weekly RSI is curling upwards, while higher volume bars confirm fresh dip-buying interest. Still, the longer-term structure remains decisively bearish so long as price trades beneath the $1.33-$1.41 resistance area. At press time, WLD traded at $1.337. WLD price hovers below key resistance area, 1-week chart | Source :WLDUSDT on Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from
NHK
21-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
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.
Business Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Eyes wide shut: When tech bros want to scan your eyeballs
DON'T blink now, because Sam Altman's World Network project, or World for short, is ramping up its bid for eyeballs. Launched globally as Worldcoin in 2023 and introduced in the US last month, this identity-verification project wants to help you prove you're a human being and not an artificial intelligence (AI) bot by scanning your iris and generating a World ID. This 'digital passport', which is stored on the blockchain, might even be used in the future to prevent fraud in the distribution of universal basic income – the payout that humans might need once they've been replaced by AI. When you consider the irony of Altman's other venture, OpenAI, this development is only marginally less infuriating than when Amazon opened its own brick-and-mortar bookstores in 2015. But already, more than 12 million people's identities have been verified with World's iris-scanning orb devices. The project, managed by an outfit called Tools for Humanity, has already raised some US$240 million in venture capital funding from marquee-level names such as Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital. So here we all are. World has understandably encountered regulatory suspicion and sundry complications – authorities in Spain and Portugal have cracked down on the platform's activities over data protection concerns, while Hong Kong has ordered it to stop collecting iris and face images. Singapore, too, has grappled with other by-products of World's existence – the police have cautioned the public against giving away or selling their Worldcoin accounts. For its part, World has said that no personal data is stored from a person's orb verification, and that the photos taken by the orb are encrypted, sent to the individual's device and 'immediately deleted' from the orb. In any case, World ploughs on. Its website lists more than 800 orb locations worldwide, and it plans to have 7,500 orb devices across America by year-end. While the World app and iris scans are currently free for end-users, the platform has introduced World ID fees for applications. Is there a need for such an endeavour despite World's ungainly start? Maybe. But the question of a use case, however, is a distinct one from whether World – or any enterprise – is the right steward for such a responsibility. Where tech is concerned, we have long conflated these two separate questions, and it's time that we stop doing that. I'm not making an argument either way about Altman or the body behind the World platform. But it does bear noting that individual titans increasingly wield power that used to be entrusted to governments. If there is cause to distrust governments, fallible as they are, there is room to scrutinise the billionaires who are displacing bureaucrats. That we even have to psychoanalyse these individuals whom nobody voted into power speaks volumes about how some governments have increasingly ceded ground to the private sector. A global ID-verification project is the very sort of undertaking that states should be helming. Alas, the odds of multilateral miracles happening in such a fractious time are poor, given how most countries don't even know what trade with the US will look like in the next 60 days. If this is the Pandora's box that we insist on unlocking, it's not the bots or billionaires that we should blame, but the people who handed them the keys.
