‘Massive Economic Implications’: Tech Titan Launches Digital Currency Featuring Global ID

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s cryptocurrency initiative featuring a global ID and hopes for Universal Basic Income (UBI) officially launched on Monday, according to the project’s website.

Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project, is placing “orbs” around the globe that scan an individual’s irises to discern whether they are a human, and issues them a “World ID,” which is a “global digital passport,” according to its website. In order to acquire a “World ID,” customers must book an appointment to conduct an in-person eye scan using Worldcoin’s “orb,” which is a silver ball designed to “verify humanness and uniqueness in a secure and privacy-preserving way.”

During its beta period, Worldcoin reached 2 million users, and it is currently expanding its global orb deployment to 35 cities in 20 countries, Reuters reported. Additionally, people who register in some countries will get Worldcoin’s cryptocurrency token, WLD.

OpenAI is the company that created the popular chatbot ChatGPT, which has a leftwing bias, the Daily Caller News Foundation found.

The WorldID has the potential to address the challenge of distinguishing humans from artificial intelligence (AI) “while preserving privacy,” Worldcoin asserted in its Monday introduction. Further, the project stated Worldcoin could “enable global democratic processes, and eventually show a potential path to AI-funded UBI.”

“People will be supercharged by AI, which will have massive economic implications,” Altman told Reuters, adding UBI is an example of that, and asserting that World IDs can help prevent defrauding the social benefits program. UBI is a recurring cash payment given to everyone regardless of economic background, according to Stanford’s Basic Income Lab.

Moreover, Altman told Reuters that UBI will not be implemented until “very far in the future” and he was uncertain of how the program would function, but stated Worldcoin is an important step on the path to its implementation.

Worldcoin did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.