Sam Altman’s blockchain project, World, is entering the US market. By the end of the year, it plans to deploy 7,500 eye-scanning “orbs” in various cities across the country, according to CoinDesk.
The devices, resembling bowling balls and designed to scan the iris for identification, will initially appear in six “key innovation hubs”: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco.
By the year’s end, a “sufficient number of orbs” are expected to be installed nationwide, enabling “180 million Americans to use the tool.”
Users who opt to provide their eyes for identification gain access to the World App and WLD tokens.
In addition to geographic expansion, Sam Altman and the Tools for Humanity team have introduced several new features and announced partnerships, including:
- offering World App users crypto-backed loans through the Morpho protocol;
- access to prediction markets via Kalshi;
- the ability to spend tokens with a new Visa debit card linked to World;
- integration of identity verification technology into some online dating apps, including Tinder in Japan.
“The World Card will connect directly to the World App wallet, allowing digital assets to be spent anywhere Visa is accepted. Merchants can seamlessly receive fiat currency without needing to understand cryptocurrencies, while individuals gain flexibility in using their digital assets,” the company stated.
Altman noted that the idea for World originated before OpenAI.
“We needed a way to authenticate people in the [AI] era. It’s essential to know which content is human-created and which is AI-generated. We wanted to ensure that humans remain special and central in a world where much online content is AI-generated,” said the CEO of OpenAI.
Tools for Humanity announced the construction of a factory in Richardson, Texas, to produce “orbs.” After the initial rollout, other major cities, including Seattle, Orlando, San Diego, and Las Vegas, will receive them.
“They will be everywhere: at gas stations, in stores. You will be able to complete the process in 10 minutes, wherever you are,” emphasized Tools for Humanity co-founder Alex Blania.
“Mobile Orbs”
Tools for Humanity unveiled a mobile device “designed to help people distinguish between humans and AI agents.”
The gadget resembles a smartphone and features two large sensors on the front for iris scanning. Similar to standard “orbs,” users receive a unique blockchain identifier after the procedure.
The Orb Mini is easily portable and could potentially become a full-fledged commercial device. There is a possibility that the company could monetize the sensor technology itself.
Back in October 2024, Worldcoin rebranded to World.