OpenAI CEO Launches Worldcoin

Worldcoin, a unique cryptocurrency venture spearheaded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has officially entered the market. The central attraction of this innovative project is its World ID - dubbed a "digital passport" that validates the holder's identity as a genuine human, not an AI bot.

The World ID is obtained through an in-person iris scan conducted using Worldcoin's exclusive 'orb'. This metallic sphere, roughly the size of a bowling ball, scans the iris to ascertain the individual's human identity before creating a World ID.

The organization behind Worldcoin, known as Tools for Humanity, operates out of San Francisco and Berlin. The project is off to a strong start, boasting 2 million users accrued during its beta phase. Now, with Worldcoin's formal launch, the company is ramping up its "orbing" operations across 35 cities in 20 nations.

To add a cherry on top, the company has initiated a program to reward its customers with Worldcoin's cryptocurrency token, WLD, in selected countries.

On its debut trading day, the WLD price experienced a significant surge. According to Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange, WLD hit a peak of $5.29, from an initial price of $0.15, and settled at $2.49 (1000 GMT), reflecting a trading volume of $25.1 million.

Worldcoin co-founder, Alex Blania, spoke to Reuters about the project's application of blockchain technology. The World IDs are stored on a blockchain, ensuring user privacy and eliminating any control or shutdown possibilities by a single party.

The team envisions World IDs as a crucial component in the era of advanced AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, which can generate exceptionally human-like conversation. The World ID system could effectively distinguish between actual human users and AI bots online.

Altman further elaborated on how Worldcoin could facilitate economic adaptation in the face of transformative AI. "AI will augment human capabilities, leading to profound economic changes," he said.

Altman points to Universal Basic Income (UBI), a social welfare program where individuals receive regular payments, as a potential use case. As AI takes on more tasks traditionally done by humans, Altman posits that UBI, verifiable via World IDs to minimize fraud, could help alleviate income inequality.

While he considers a world with UBI as a distant future and is unclear about the entity that could distribute the money, Altman asserts that Worldcoin is laying the foundation for this vision. He emphasizes the need for experimentation to navigate future challenges, stating, "We believe we need to start testing ideas to prepare for what's ahead."