The CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman, introduced the Worldcoin cryptocurrency initiative on Monday.
The main feature of the initiative is its World ID, an account that can only be obtained by actual people.
A consumer registers to perform an in-person iris scan using the Worldcoin “orb,” a silver ball about the size of a bowling ball, in order to obtain a World ID. A World ID is generated once the orb’s iris scan confirms the user is a real human.
Since the project’s beta phase, it has gained 2 million users. With the launch on Monday, Worldcoin is expanding its “orbing” activities to 35 locations in 20 nations. Those who register in particular nations will receive the WLD cryptocurrency token from Worldcoin as an incentive.
According to the initiative, World IDs will become more important when generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, which produce surprisingly human-like language, become more prevalent. Online, World IDs could be used to distinguish between humans and AI bots.
The biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, said that it would list Worldcoin, with a possible Monday trading start date.