Worldcoin Launches in London

Worldcoin: ChatGPT boss's crypto project launches a scheme that offers digital coins in exchange for eyeball scans.

02:16 26 July 2023

OpenAI boss Sam Altman has recently launched a cryptocurrency scheme that offers digital coins in exchange for eyeball scans. The project, which was launched in cities around the world on Monday, saw people lining up to get the chance to stare into a silver orb designed to take an iris scan. 

Mr Altman described it as a "global financial and identity network based on proof of personhood", which he said is "especially important in the AI era".

However, the Information Commissioner's Office, which upholds privacy rights, has raised some concerns about the project and said that it would examine the business. A spokesman said: "We note the launch of Worldcoin in the UK and will be making further enquiries." 

Worldcoin could be used as a method of digital identification to distinguish humans from AI online using a process called "orbing". However, regulators all over the world are raising privacy and security concerns. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of crypto platform Ethereum, said that iris scans may reveal personal information such as medical conditions and that the orbs themselves may not be secured.