OpenAI chief Sam Altman launched his World crypto project in 2023, and now it’s coming to the U.S. in a big way.

The sci-fi-sounding initiative uses an orb to scan your iris to create your very own World ID, which the company describes as a “digital passport.” 

In return for registering, you get some free World (WLD) cryptocurrency, which you can add to later or spend whenever you like. Your World ID will also allow you to sign in and authenticate into web, mobile, and decentralized apps, anonymously showing that you’re a unique human and not a bot or AI system. Essentially, the project is an attempt at building a financial and social infrastructure to address challenges posed by AI’s rapid advancement.

For the last couple of years, World’s orb has been scanning people’s irises in more than a dozen countries, including the U.K., Japan, Germany, Spain, and India. 

At a special event on Wednesday night, Altman’s company announced that from Thursday, folks in the U.S. will be able to register, too.

World executive Rich Heley said a new, smaller, and more advanced version of the orb will be rolling out across the U.S. and globally from today. By the end of the year, 7,500 orbs will be scanning irises in the U.S., at locations within relatively easy reach of around 180 million Americans.

How it works

Heley offered a sneak peek at its new self-verification system where you’ll be able to set up a WorldID by yourself using an orb in places like coffee shops and convenience stores. 

Demonstrated on stage, WorldID product manager Tawanda Michael Mahere began the self-verification process by pairing the orb with his phone, which involved scanning the QR code on his World app. Facing the orb, the device then scanned his iris and, in just a few seconds, the process was complete and Mahere was the recipient of a number of WLD cryptocurrency tokens as a little thank you gift.

“First, it’s verifying that he’s a human,” Heley explained. “Then it’s informing him that his data is being sent just to his device so that he controls it, and then reminding him that all his data is being deleted from the orb.”   

Want to sign up?

From Thursday, orbs will be available at select locations in the U.S., including San Francisco World Flagship Space at 281 Geary St; Austin World Space at 417 2nd St in Austin, Texas; Los Angeles World Flagship Space at 8585 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood; and Miami World Flagship Space at 257 NW 24th St in Miami, Florida.

While some people are very much into the idea of a secure, global digital identity and new ways to distribute money, others have voiced concerns about privacy, surveillance, and how the biometric data is handled, despite World saying that it doesn’t store raw eye images and uses cryptography to protect people’s identity.

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