{"id":5134,"date":"2025-05-01T21:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T21:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/01\/sam-altmans-eyeball-scanning-project-expands-to-6-us-cities\/"},"modified":"2025-05-01T21:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T21:45:08","slug":"sam-altmans-eyeball-scanning-project-expands-to-6-us-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/01\/sam-altmans-eyeball-scanning-project-expands-to-6-us-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Altman\u2019s Eyeball-Scanning Project Expands to 6 US Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Man
Sam Altman co-founded the startup behind World in 2019. Chris Jung\/NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The \u201cOrb,\u201d a silver, basketball-sized device that scans human irises to generate and store unique biometric data, sounds like it\u2019s straight out of a science fiction tale. But these devices are real, developed by a startup co-founded by OpenAI<\/a> CEO Sam Altman<\/a>, and are now available in six U.S. cities.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAmerica should lead innovation, not fight it off,\u201d said Altman yesterday (April 30) during an event unveiling the U.S. expansion of World, the digital identification project behind Orbs. The devices can now be found in seven locations<\/a> cross Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and San Francisco.<\/p>\n

World is the brainchild of Tools for Humanity, a company established by Altman and deep learning researcher Alex Blania<\/a> in 2019. Its mission is to establish a simple, secure form of human verification in a future where A.I. could blur the line between people and bots online.<\/p>\n

Initially called Worldcoin and rebranded as World last year<\/a>, the project aims to create a unique \u201cWorld ID\u201d for individuals\u2014verifiable proof of personhood that can also be used for cryptocurrency transactions and other digital services.<\/p>\n

World IDs are generated by scans from Orbs, which are currently available in nearly 900 locations worldwide<\/a>, according to the World website. World aims to deploy 7,500 Orb devices across the U.S. by the end of the year,\u00a0with the goal of reaching 180 million Americans. Globally, the project already claims 12 million verified World ID holders and ultimately aims for 1 billion users.<\/p>\n

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World\u2019s uses circular Orb devices to scan human eyes. Courtesy World<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How do the Orbs work?<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s how the Orbs work: the device takes about 30 seconds to scan a person\u2019s irises, collecting data to generate a World ID and rewarding users with a small amount of the project\u2019s WLD cryptocurrency. Powered by Nvidia (NVDA)<\/a>\u2019s Jetson chipset, the Orb measures iris patterns rather than more common biometric data like fingerprints, which are more susceptible to external changes.<\/p>\n

For the first time, Tools for Humanity will begin assembling some of its Orbs in the U.S., launching a domestic production line in Richardson, Texas. Following the initial rollout in its first six cities, the company plans to expand to Seattle, Orlando, San Diego and Las Vegas. \u201cThey will really be everywhere,\u201d said Blania at the launch event. \u201cThey\u2019ll be in gas stations, convenience stores\u2014you\u2019ll be able to verify yourself in 10 minutes, basically wherever you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite its seemingly wacky premise, World has attracted the backing of major Silicon Valley investors. Since 2019, it has raised more than $240 million from firms including Andreessen Horowitz<\/a>, khosla ventures<\/a>, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, according to Crunchbase.<\/p>\n

Alongside its U.S. expansion, World also announced two new partnerships aimed at advancing its digital ID vision. A collaboration with Visa will introduce the \u201cWorld Card\u201d later this year, allowing World ID holders to spend digital assets anywhere Visa is accepted. World is also partnering with Match Group<\/a> to pilot World ID as an age verification tool for online dating platforms, starting with Tinder (MTCH)<\/a> users in Japan.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Sam<\/p><\/div>\n