Worldcoin,
the
cryptocurrency
/
human
identity
network
/
UBI
project
co-founded
by
OpenAI
CEO
Sam
Altman,
is
now
known
as
World.
Along
with
the
name
change,
World
introduced
an
updated
version
of
its
eyeball-scanning
Orb
device
which
is
designed
to
solve
a
problem
that
does
not
currently
exist:
authenticating
that
someone
is
human
“in
the
age
of
AI.”
People
registered
to
the
system
get
a
World
ID
that
they
can
use
to
“securely
and
anonymously”
prove
their
humanness
online,
as
well
as
a
share
of
its
associated
WLD
cryptocurrency
token.
The
new
Orb
is
made
with
30
percent
fewer
parts
than
its
predecessor,
which
is
supposed
to
make
it
easier
and
cheaper
to
build,
and
equipped
with
Nvidia’s
robotics
and
AI
platform,
Jetson,
for
some
reason.
Rich
Heley,
the
chief
device
officer
of
Tools
for
Humanity
—
the
foundation
behind
the
World
project
—
said
during
an
event
on
Thursday
that
the
simplified
design
should
help
achieve
the
goal
of
making
the
Orb
widely
available.
“To
provide
access
to
every
human,
we
need
more
Orbs.
Lots
more
Orbs.
Probably
on
the
order
of
a
thousand
times
more
Orbs
than
we
have
today,”
Heley
said.
“Not
only
more
Orbs
but
more
Orbs
in
more
places.”
In
addition
to
ramping
up
production
of
the
Orb,
World
will
even
let
people
purchase
or
rent
their
very
own
eyeball-scanning
sphere
so
they
can
“start
verifying
unique
humans”
in
their
communities.
It’s
also
launching
a
new
service
called
“Orb
on
Demand”
(yes,
it’s
really
called
that)
that
will
let
people
order
Orbs
“much
like
a
pizza
you
would
have
delivered
to
your
apartment,”
Heley
said.
The
Orb
is
also
coming
to
more
countries,
including
Costa
Rica,
Brazil,
Indonesia,
Australia,
the
United
Arab
Emirates,
Morocco,
and
others.
While
World’s
ID
services
are
available
in
the
US,
its
cryptocurrency
token
isn’t,
as
our
own
Alex
Heath
noted
when
he
was
scanned
last
summer.
World
says
it
has
verified
nearly
7
million
“unique
humans”
so
far,
despite
privacy
concerns
about
building
a
privately
operated
global
database
based
on
biometrics.
Last
year,
Kenya
suspended
World
while
it
investigated
its
practices
surrounding
data
collection
(it
has
since
dropped
its
investigation).
Hong
Kong
asked
World
to
stop
all
operations
in
the
country
over
privacy
risks,
while
both
Portugal
and
Spain
have
also
taken
action
against
the
project.
(Originally posted by Emma Roth)
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