In recent weeks, more than 2.2 million people globally have stared into a bowling-ball sized chrome sphere. These Worldcoin orbs contain a camera that records images of a person’s irises – apparently because society will soon need these iris-IDs to distinguish real people from AI chatbots. In exchange, some participants are getting tokens for the Worldcoin cryptocurrency, currently worth around $2 each. It’s the latest brainchild of ChatGPT founder Sam Altman, and it’s raised $115 million this year in venture capital. “Privacy doesn’t even exist anymore,” said one 25 year-old happy to have his irises scanned “for the meme”. But not everyone is convinced. Data watchdogs in France and Germany are investigating Worldcoin’s data collection practices, while Kenya halted the company’s eyeball-scanning last week over public safety concerns.
Photograph: Worldcoin