World storms into US market, riding wave of relaxed regulations

It was only a matter of time – both before Sam Altman and Alex Blania’s biometric World Network announced its arrival in the U.S., and before celebrating it with a grandiose tagline and accompanying livestream and press conference.

The so-called “At Last Event” provided a platform for World’s launch into one of the actual world’s biggest markets. The firm will begin by bringing its spherical Orb iris scanners to Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and San Francisco, located at both standalone outlets and inside Razer retail stores. It plans to deploy 7,500 Orbs by the end of 2025.

Blania says the launch is in part driven by “the outlook for regulatory clarity in the U.S. around crypto,” which is allowing for more “transparent conversations.”

An Orb so slim you can fit it in your pocket

At Last also saw World unveil a mini version of its biometric capture device, the Orb. This Orb is flat: a rectangular handheld device with dual lenses that make it look something like a steamrolled VR headset or a Lego brick on peyote. Blania says the idea with the Mini Orb is to offer a more scalable, cost-efficient version of the Orb, one that is slimmed down and can even fit in your pocket – kind of like a smartphone.

Indeed, Blania says the Mini Orb uses “smartphone architecture,” in part so that World’s sensor modules can be more easily integrated into other device webcams. He also notes that it makes it easier for so-called “operators who do that as a job, probably,” to take it onto campuses to verify people there.

Alternatively, he says, the rectangular Orb might eventually be used as a point-of-sale device.

On a related note, World also plans to offer its own Visa-compatible World Card later this year, enabling crypto transactions through World App wallet at online and physical stores. Another partnership, with Match Group, will see World ID and related age verification tools piloted by Tinder in Japan.

To recap: so far, World and Tools For Humanity (which started as a co-founding entity but was reclassified as a “contributor”) wish to capture everyone’s irises to enrol them in their blockchain network in order to prove they are human; function as everyone’s digital identity wallet, with a native cryptocurrency to match in WLD; be a messaging platform and an app store and a smartphone and an operating system and a cash register and a credit card; and deploy a unit of evangelistic recruiters to travel around with iris scanners, offering a chance at something like digital salvation.

Privacy concerns mainly a question of misunderstanding, Blania says

To concerns about privacy – namely that regulators around the world have judged World’s notion of informed consent to be floppy, at best – Blania says, verbatim, “this is a very complicated technology, the privacy implications of this require deep understanding.” He pledges to work hard to help regulators understand that “we have very high conviction that this is the best way to solve a very important problem for the internet and that there is basically no other way to do that.”

And, he says, regulators are coming around. A piece in Argentina’s iProUp notes the success World has had in that country, where, according to Martín Mazza, regional manager for Latin America at Tools for Humanity, there are 2 million verified users.

With his explanation that “what the system does is split this anonymized proof of humanity into different secrets that are stored in different databases maintained by different universities,” Mazza has convinced Silvina Santángelo, head of the Cybercrime Enforcement Unit of La Rioja – and a World skeptic – who concedes, “it’s a powerful and innovative protocol in the way it works. However, you need to know about cryptography to fully understand how it works or how it’s done.”

Only one outright ban; other pauses voluntary and conversations welcome

Damien Kieran, World’s chief privacy officer, makes a point to note that “there has only been one ban,” namely in Hong Kong. “Otherwise, currently we have many conversations. And we welcome the questions. We think it’s important that people understand how this technology works, how it uses data, and how we do not store or keep any personal data.” He encourages people to “look at the code, to make sure that it works the way that we say it does.”

Kieran raises a key point: World and its network may work exactly as the company says it does. The problem is not one of mechanics or a fault in its decentralized Anonymized Multi-Party Computation (AMPC) model. The allegations against World largely concern a lack of adequate language posted at Orb stations to explain the deal to people scanning their irises, and the possibility that the firm may have illegally scanned the biometrics of users who are under 18. Neither of those are issues with code.

Is it a good idea to let Silicon Valley tech billionaires shape the world?

Noting that people at first made fun of World for pushing “proof of personhood,” Blania raises another crucial point: “before ChatGPT and before AI became as strong as it is, all of this sounded like a very theoretical problem.” Now, he says, many people calling World have actual problems with AI.

ChatGPT is developed by OpenAI, of which Sam Altman is CEO.

Sam Altman is also a founder of World. And, at the press conference, Blania hints that OpenAI and World may soon be collaborating on a social project.

The question to be asked about World, then, is not “Does it work?” It’s not even “is it as anonymous and secure as it claims?” Rather, the fundamental question is whether or not it remains a useful or desirable model to have another large Silicon Valley company run by a bunch of white guys brand anything and everything in one’s digital life. Moreover, is infinite scale an objective any tech firm should be allowed to pursue – especially given the arc of the social media titans, from utopian aspirants to entrenched oligarchs?

A question from an L.A. Times reporter pokes a hole in Blania’s veneer of altruism: what, exactly, is World’s business model? How does it make money? What’s in it for Blania and co.?

“There’s a couple different answers,” says Blania. World ID network fees are one stream. “Go a couple years in the future, and assume many large platforms rely on the World proof of human. Could be social networks, could be dating apps. This will turn out to be very valuable to them. There will need to be some amount of fee that these platforms pay to the network for using this proof of human.”

And, of the World App, which is operated by Tools for Humanity, Blania says “there’s a lot of different ways we could monetize that if we want to.”

Article Topics

age verification  |  data privacy  |  digital ID  |  iris biometrics  |  proof of personhood  |  Tools for Humanity  |  United States  |  World  |  World ID  |  World ID Orb