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The founder of OpenAI, Sam Altman, has embarked on an innovative new project known as Worldcoin, which introduces a unique approach to token distribution by scanning human beings. The project aims to provide individuals with a distinctive 'World ID,' achieved through the scanning of a human eyeball using Worldcoin's revolutionary device called the 'orb, a silver ball roughly the size of a bowling ball.

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During its beta period, Worldcoin attracted an impressive two million users. With its official launch on Monday, the project is now scaling up its 'orbing' operations to cover 35 cities across 20 countries. Interested users can acquire tokens by simply downloading the company's app and gaining access to the orb at a later stage.

Moreover, in certain countries, new sign-ups will also be rewarded with Worldcoin's own cryptocurrency token called 'WLD.' The integration of cryptocurrency into the World ID concept is a crucial aspect, as cryptocurrency blockchains will serve as a secure and private means of storing World IDs, immune to control or shutdown by any single entity.

In early Monday trade, the price of WLD, the cryptocurrency token of Worldcoin, saw a significant surge. As per Binance's website, it peaked at $5.29 on the world's largest exchange and was trading at $2.49 at 1000 GMT after hitting a low of $0.15. The total trade volume reached an impressive $25.1 million.

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Reuters quoted Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI and the driving force behind Worldcoin, as saying that a world with Universal Basic Income (UBI) might be "very far in the future," and he was uncertain about which organization could be responsible for distributing such funds. However, Altman believed that Worldcoin serves as a crucial foundation for exploring and making this vision of UBI a reality. He emphasised the need to experiment with new ideas to pave the way for transformative changes.

Furthermore, Altman is an advocate for Universal Basic Income, a social welfare program that offers regular payments to every individual. With the rise of AI and automation taking over more tasks previously performed by people, Altman argued that UBI could play a vital role in reducing income inequality.

Worldcoin's unique approach introduces the use of World IDs, which limit their usage to verified individuals, thereby enabling the potential to combat fraud while implementing UBI. The project believes that in the era of generative AI, which produces remarkably human-like language, World IDs will be indispensable in distinguishing between real individuals and AI bots.

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(Inputs from Reuters)

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