A biometric identity verification project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is set to launch in the United Kingdom this week.

Starting June 12, 2025, the service will be available in London, with plans for expansion to Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast, and Glasgow in the coming months.

The initiative uses a spherical eye-scanning device called the Orb to verify identities.

By scanning a person’s iris and face, the device generates a unique code to differentiate humans from AI.

Users who register their iris code through the project will receive the platform’s cryptocurrency, WLD, and obtain an anonymous identifier known as World ID.

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🔗 Source: CNBC

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Biometric identity systems face familiar historical challenges despite technological advances

World’s eye-scanning technology represents the latest chapter in a biometric verification history spanning thousands of years, from ancient handprints in caves (31,000 years ago) to fingerprints in Babylonian transactions (500 B.C.)1.

India’s Aadhaar system provides a crucial benchmark for World’s ambitions. Despite successfully providing digital identities to over 1.2 billion people, it has faced significant legal challenges regarding privacy, data security, and potential surveillance concerns2.

These historical patterns show that even technically sophisticated biometric systems consistently struggle with the same fundamental tensions between security, convenience, and privacy protection.

Modern digital identity schemes like Estonia’s eID (supporting 600+ services) demonstrate that successful implementations require not just technical excellence but also robust legal frameworks and public trust3.

The challenge for World will be overcoming the skepticism that has followed virtually every large-scale biometric implementation, from fingerprinting’s early adoption by police departments in the early 1900s to contemporary iris scanning systems1.

2️⃣ The privatization of digital identity verification shifts traditional government responsibilities

World’s approach represents a significant shift from traditional government-led identity systems (like passports or national IDs) to private enterprise-led verification, raising fundamental questions about accountability and governance.

Historically, identity verification has been a government function. The UN Sustainable Development Goals explicitly target “legal identity for all” by 2030, positioning identity as a public good4.

World’s cryptocurrency-linked model (where users receive WLD tokens after verification) introduces new economic incentives for identity registration that differ substantially from government systems primarily designed for service access and fraud reduction5.

This private-sector approach to human verification emerges as governments worldwide struggle with digital identity implementation. World is positioning itself as a technical solution to governance challenges that have plagued systems like India’s Aadhaar, which despite its scale has faced criticism for exclusionary effects and security vulnerabilities6.

The involvement of prominent AI industry figures like Sam Altman suggests a growing recognition that identity verification is becoming a critical infrastructure component for responsible AI development, especially as deep fake capabilities become more sophisticated.

3️⃣ Biometric data protection requires fundamentally different approaches than traditional data

World’s decentralized, device-based verification model directly addresses one of the most significant vulnerabilities in biometric systems—the creation of centralized databases that become high-value targets for attackers.

Unlike passwords or documents that can be changed if compromised, biometric data like iris scans is immutable. Once leaked, it cannot be changed, creating permanent security vulnerabilities for affected individuals7.

Recent biometric data breaches highlight these risks. In 2019, a major breach exposed 27.8 million biometric records, including fingerprints and facial recognition data, demonstrating the need for exceptionally strong protections7.

World’s approach of processing data locally on users’ devices rather than in the cloud aligns with emerging best practices in biometric security that emphasize decentralized architectures and encryption8.

The most advanced biometric systems now incorporate multiple layers of protection, including liveness detection (to prevent spoofing with photos or recordings), encryption, and behavioral verification that analyzes patterns rather than storing raw biometric data9.

Recent World developments

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