World, the outfit behind this dystopian gimmick, has now introduced its biometric ID scheme to the UK, following its April debut in the US. The idea is simple and somewhat bonkers, scan someone’s iris to verify their identity, issue them a “World ID,” and let them use it to access online services or Worldcoin, the project's in-house cryptocurrency.
This digital dog tag is needed to distinguish people from AI bots clogging up the internet, many of which were created by Altman’s other baby, OpenAI.
Chief architect at Tools for Humanity, the developer behind World, Adrian Ludwig, said: “The UK is certainly one of the more influential markets in the world, it punches well above its weight globally.” We guess that means they think that the UK is populated by people dumb enough to give up sensitive biometric data in exchange for vague promises and maybe some coins which have no real value.
Ludwig said: “In the UK over 75 per cent of citizens speak to having been affected by AI on nearly a daily basis,” suggesting there’s a ripe market for selling paranoia and retina scans to the digitally disillusioned.
World predicts that in two years, 90 per cent of online content will be generated by machines and thinks it’s already hard to tell who’s real and who’s not. That’s a problem Altman arguably helped create and is now marketing himself as uniquely positioned to fix.
World has yet to make any money, but it’s not for lack of trying. The group raised $135 million last month to make more of its chrome eyeball orbs and push further international expansion. Previous investors include LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently enjoying a 25-year holiday in federal prison.
World says its tool could help banks catch fraudsters, ensure that dating apps only host humans, and stop virtual touts snapping up gig tickets. Whether that’s true or just a shiny new pitch to sell a biometric ID system remains unclear.
European regulators, however, are not terribly impressed. The group has already been investigated by the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision regarding how it handles biometric data and has faced resistance in Spain and Portugal. World says it’s cleaned up its act.
“Data is being held by a user on their local device. It’s not being uploaded somewhere. It’s certainly not going to a server that’s controlled by Tools for Humanity or by the World Foundation,” Ludwig claimed.
He likened the process to checking ID at a bar: “They look at it, they confirm that you’re the age that you’re claiming to be, and they allow you in. They don’t write anything down.”
Critics have rightly pointed out that this identity crisis is one Altman helped manufacture in the first place, and trusting him to solve it with a glowing orb feels a bit like letting the arsonist run the fire brigade.
