https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/18/24273691/world-orb-sam-altman-iris-scan-crypto-token Skip to main content The Verge logo.The Verge homepage * The Verge homepageThe Verge logo./ * Tech/ * Reviews/ * Science/ * Entertainment/ * AI/ * MoreMenu The Verge logo. Menu * Crypto/ * Tech/ * Artificial Intelligence Sam Altman's eyeball-scanning crypto project has a new Orb and a new name Sam Altman's eyeball-scanning crypto project has a new Orb and a new name / Worldcoin is now just World, but nothing about this is getting any simpler. By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Oct 18, 2024, 7:30 PM UTC Share this story * * * [world_orb_] Image: World 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. Most Popular Most Popular 1. Brazilian police arrested the hacker who stole everyone's SSN ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Watch Adobe rotate a flat drawing of a bread basket as if it were a 3D object ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Meta is laying off employees at WhatsApp, Instagram, and more ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Analogue's 4K Nintendo 64 launches next year for $249 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Apple adds another buy now, pay later service to Pay ----------------------------------------------------------------- Verge Deals / Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox weekly. Email (required)[ ]Sign up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. From our sponsor Advertiser Content FromSponsor logo Sponsor thumbnail More from Tech * A screenshot from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.A screenshot from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is just $40 for first-time Woot buyers * Illustration of the Epic Games logo and Google logo inside of a Google Play logo.Illustration of the Epic Games logo and Google logo inside of a Google Play logo. Epic judge lets Google keep its Android app store closed to competitors -- for now * The future of phones is flat.The future of phones is flat. OnePlus might be ditching curved edges too * Illustration of Google's wordmark, written in red and pink on a dark blue background.Illustration of Google's wordmark, written in red and pink on a dark blue background. How Google is changing to compete with ChatGPT * Advertiser Content FromSponsor logo The Verge logo. * Cookie Settings * Terms of Use * Privacy Notice * Cookie Policy * Licensing FAQ * Accessibility * Platform Status * How We Rate and Review Products * Contact * Tip Us * Community Guidelines * About * Ethics Statement The Verge is a vox media network * Advertise with us * Jobs @ Vox Media (c) 2024 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved