OpenAI co-founder says scanning everyone’s eyes can stop AI fakes

Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, has launched a project called World that seeks to use scans of people’s irises to help distinguish images of real people from fake ones.

The company’s global initiative comes after its own AI, ChatGPT, unlocked the potential to create realistic, albeit fake, images of a person’s face. The iris scan is used to create a “World ID” profile and can only be performed using the Orb, a scanner developed by World.

The project largely seeks to address issues such as deepfakes, where AI is used to create realistic fake videos of individuals. One current concern is that scammers could use deepfakes to pose as the head of a company during a video call and trick employees into transferring money.

World’s solution, called “Deep Face,” involves comparing videos with eye scanner recordings. The company plans to offer its own camera interface on user devices, eliminating the need for collaboration with technology platforms.

The software will be compatible with popular video apps such as WhatsApp, Zoom, Microsoft’s Teams and Apple’s FaceTime. However, this recognition will only be available to those registered with World.

World initially started as a cryptocurrency project under the name Worldcoin. The shorter name and a new version of the Orb scanners were revealed at an event in San Francisco.

Privacy concerns regarding Worldcoin’s original solutions led to its ban in Spain. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, about a third of the population has had their eyes scanned. In Lisbon, one in seven residents would have a profile.

The company assures that no data is stored on the orbs themselves; instead, it is sent directly to users’ devices. World uses blockchain technology, similar to digital currencies, to split and store data sets in various locations, increasing security against data theft.

Altman stressed the importance of verifying human identity in the age of AI, saying the current infrastructure is inadequate. Co-founder Alex Blania said World was looking to collaborate with governments, offering online identification technology that only requires partial identification data. He noted that a global protocol to this effect would be beneficial.

World announced that it needed 1,000 times more orbs to achieve its growth plans. Currently, there are places where people can be analyzed, and in the future orbs could be sent to homes in areas like Latin America. However, Orb’s long-term business model remains unclear.