Tools for Humanity, a startup co-founded by Sam Altman of OpenAI, is introducing its eye-scanning Orb devices in the UK as part of a worldwide expansion of the company’s innovative identification services.
Londoners will be able to step into biometric kiosks equipped with the spherical devices which scan a person’s iris to confirm their “humanness”.
The service is set to extend to Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast, and Glasgow in the upcoming months.
The spherical Orbs will be located in designated locations within shopping centres and along high streets, according to Damien Kieran, the chief legal and privacy officer at Tools for Humanity. Additionally, the company aims to collaborate with leading retailers to offer self-service Orbs that individuals can use similarly to an ATM, Kieran noted.
The organisation, headed by co-founder and CEO Alex Blania, has promoted its eye-scanning technology as a method for individuals to verify their humanity at a time when artificial intelligence systems are increasingly skilled at imitating humans.
AI bots and deepfakes, including those supported by generative AI tools developed by Altman’s OpenAI, present various security risks such as identity theft, misinformation, and social engineering.
The Orb scan generates a digital credential known as World ID, based on the distinctive characteristics of a person’s iris.
In exchange for their data, users will be gifted a small amount of cryptocurrency called WorldCoin, currently valued at around $42, which will be added to their digital wallet.
“We wanted a way to make sure that humans stayed special and central,” Altman told a crowd in San Francisco earlier this month. “We needed some way of identifying, authenticating humans in the age of AGI (artificial general intelligence).”
Tools for Humanity has encountered regulatory scrutiny regarding privacy issues related to its technology in several markets, including investigations in Germany and Argentina, as well as prohibitions in Spain and Hong Kong.
The company asserts that it does not retain any personal or biometric data and that the verification details remain on the mobile device of the World ID holder.
Kieran indicated that Tools for Humanity has been engaging with data regulators, including the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office and privacy advocates, in preparation for the planned expansion.
To date, approximately 13 million individuals in countries such as Mexico, Germany, Japan, Korea, Portugal, and Thailand have authenticated their identities using Tools for Humanity’s technology, the company reported.
In April, the organisation disclosed its intention to expand to six cities in the US. Earlier this year, the company introduced the Orb Mini, a device shaped like a smartphone, designed to serve as a more portable alternative to the traditional spherical version. Currently, there are 1,500 Orbs in operation, according to Kieran, but the company intends to increase production to deliver an additional 12,000 units over the next year.
