This event marks the launch of a major version of World ID, the authentication system based on biometric verification. Addressing an audience concerned with distinguishing humans from AI, Altman insisted: "The world is heading toward an era where AI generates more content than a human being," and it is vital to be able to ask, "Am I interacting with an AI or a real person?". This is where World comes in.
Formerly known as Worldcoin, then World Network, before being shortened to World, the project co-founded by Sam Altman and led by Tools for Humanity (TFH) aims to become a sort of human identity layer for the Internet. Not a traditional ID card. Not a named account. Not a public digital passport. But rather a cryptographic proof enabling a user to demonstrate that they are indeed a real, unique, human being, without revealing their name.
The problem: The Internet no longer knows who is human
For thirty years, the Internet has relied on a somewhat awkward ambiguity: one could be oneself, someone else, anonymous, pseudonymous, collective, or invisible. This plasticity enabled expression and freedom. However, it also opened the door to fake accounts, scams, bots, click farms, manipulation - and now generative deepfakes. With AI, the problem has changed in scale.
According to Deloitte, financial fraud related to deepfakes could reach $40bn by 2027 in the US alone.
The Orb: The sphere that turns the iris into proof of personhood
The heart of the World system rests on a strange object: the Orb. A metallic, futuristic, almost ceremonial sphere that scans the user's eye. More specifically, it captures the iris, the colored part of the eye whose patterns are extremely distinctive. Since every iris is unique, it can serve as the basis for a proof of uniqueness.
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How does it work? The user stands before the Orb. The machine scans their eyes. The iris image is transformed into a unique and anonymous cryptographic identifier. This identifier becomes a verified World ID. In theory, the third-party service does not know who you are. It does not receive your name, address, email or face. It simply knows that a real, unique person, already verified by World, is behind the action.
The stated goal is not to say: "This is Laurent, born on such a day, living at such an address." Rather, the goal is to say: "This interaction comes from a unique human being and not from a bot or an unverified AI agent."
Until now, World has primarily stumbled upon a very concrete problem: how to convince millions of people to have their irises scanned? For a long time, obtaining the highest level of verification required physically going to an Orb. This was a restrictive, unusual experience, sometimes perceived as strange. In some countries, the company tried to encourage participation by offering its cryptocurrency, Worldcoin, to certain registrants. It also installed its Orbs in major retail chains to allow users to get verified while shopping or buying a coffee.
Now, World is accelerating. The company has announced a massive rollout of its Orbs in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. It is also highlighting a service allowing interested individuals to have an Orb delivered to their home for remote verification.
However, TFH knows that not everyone will immediately step in front of a biometric sphere. This is why the company is introducing several levels of verification. The highest level remains Orb verification. Below that, World offers an intermediate level based on the anonymized scanning of an official ID via the card's NFC chip.
And now, a much simpler entry level: Selfie Check. The user takes a selfie. Processing is intended to be performed locally on the phone to preserve image privacy. Daniel Shorr, one of the executives at TFH, insists: selfies are private by nature and World wants to optimize local processing so that images remain on the device.
But selfie verification has its limits. World claims to be doing its best and has one of the best systems on the market, but fraudsters have long known how to bypass certain selfie mechanisms. The "low friction" level therefore mechanically implies a lower level of security.
The easier it is, the more vulnerable it becomes. The more secure it is, the more intrusive it becomes.
Tinder: The first major consumer showcase
Tinder will allow users to prove they are human and not bots. This choice is not insignificant. A dating app relies entirely on trust. A photo, a first name, a bio, a few messages. Everything depends on the conviction that the person on the other side actually exists. Tinder had already launched a World ID pilot in Japan last year. With the test presented as a success, World is now announcing a rollout in international markets, including the US.
The principle is simple: a verified user can link their World ID to their Tinder profile. A badge then appears, showing that they are a real human. The app does not necessarily display the person's civil identity. It only indicates that the profile is not supposed to be a bot.
For Tinder, the interest is obvious. Fewer fake profiles. More trust. A more reassuring experience. Yoel Roth, head of trust and safety at Match Group, which owns Tinder, explained that this partnership was a logical next step to help users know that the person at the other end of the line is real.
From Tinder to concerts: The same logic against bots
World is launching a feature called Concert Kit. The idea: allow artists to reserve a portion of their tickets for individuals verified by World ID. The goal: to fight against bots that automatically buy tickets to resell them later at higher prices.
The problem is well-known. When a high-demand tour opens its box office, automated scripts can buy seats in seconds. Real fans arrive too late. Tickets then reappear on the secondary market at higher, often exorbitant, prices.
World therefore proposes a solution: reserving certain tickets for verified humans. Concert Kit would be compatible with major ticketing platforms like Ticketmaster and Eventbrite.
Zoom, DocuSign, Okta: Proof of personhood enters the enterprise
World also wants to invite itself into the professional world.
With Zoom, the goal is to combat deepfakes in video calls. A person with a World ID can use their identifier to prove they are indeed human, potentially reducing the risk of an AI-generated face impersonating them during a meeting.
DocuSign addresses another vulnerability: electronic signatures. In a world where an AI agent can draft, send, negotiate, or sign documents, the question becomes simple: who is actually behind the action? World wants to add a layer of human proof to these processes.
Okta, an authentication specialist, is working on a concept called "Human Principal." This aims to verify that a software agent is indeed acting on behalf of a physical person. This anticipates the automated web: tomorrow, AI agents will be able to book, buy, respond, complete forms, negotiate, publish and execute tasks.
Ethical, legal and critical stakes
This massive technological deployment nevertheless raises questions. On the one hand, World ID promises to strengthen online trust (safer dating sites, fewer deepfakes, fair ticketing, etc.). On the other hand, it involves the collection of sensitive biometric data on a global scale, which is not without controversy.
Several governments have expressed concern. In 2023-2024, some countries in Asia and Africa suspended World's operations, citing risks related to iris collection and personal data protection. Some European countries have even banned it outright, ordering the deletion of collected data. Authorities fear that such a system could allow for "global tracking" of populations or violate privacy laws.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden criticized World for "cataloging eyeballs," pointing to the risk of mass surveillance.
TFH defends itself by highlighting strict anonymization (no personal data is transmitted) and by publishing studies claiming that the population is favorable (for example, acceptance surveys in Portugal, Spain and South Korea). Nevertheless, skepticism remains: can one truly "protect privacy" while collecting unique biometrics on a global scale? Legal debates on the legality of such devices are far from over, particularly in Europe where the GDPR imposes strict constraints on sensitive data.
The Worldcoin crypto
In this setup, the Worldcoin crypto — down -50% in 2024 — primarily plays the role of the network's economic fuel. Originally, it was intended to incentivize users to join World: you get verified as a unique human, you obtain a World ID, and you can receive a portion of the token associated with the project. The idea: if World wants to create a global "proof of personhood" infrastructure, it must reach critical mass. To reach this critical mass, the crypto serves as a bootstrapping tool, almost like a sign-up bonus distributed to early users.
But its utility does not stop there. The token also serves to align interests between participants, developers, and the ecosystem: the more World ID is used in applications like Tinder, Zoom, or DocuSign, the more value the network gains, and the more the token can become the economic asset accompanying this identity layer. In short, World ID is the identity building block; Worldcoin is the incentive building block. One is used to prove you are human. The other is used to grow the network fast enough for this proof to become a standard. This is also what makes the project controversial: World is not just proposing an authentication technology, but rather a complete economy centered around human identity.
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Ultimately, the World project oscillates between utopia and dystopia. In a digital world that is saturated with bots and deceptive AI, having a universal "human label" could improve trust. Large companies support the initiative, convinced it fights fraud and strengthens security. Conversely, giving a massive biometric database to a private entity — even with cryptographic guarantees — raises concerns about control and power. A technical vulnerability or a political shift (legislative reversal) could threaten the privacy of millions.
The coming months will tell if World becomes an essential layer of trust or an overly intrusive experiment.
If Tinder adopts it widely, the "verified human" badge could become a social advantage. If Zoom integrates it into professional use, proof of personhood could become a security standard. If DocuSign, Okta and AI agents embrace it, World could slip into the heart of corporate workflows.
But every new use case will pose the same question. Do we want an Internet where humans must certify themselves to be believed? And if so, to whom do we entrust this certification?
World aims to address one of the great problems of the AI era: distinguishing the real from the synthetic, the human from the bot, the presence from the imitation. But in trying to solve this crisis, the project opens another, even deeper debate: that of the control of human identity in the digital world.
The final word: World is not just scanning irises. It is scanning a collective anxiety. That of an Internet where everything can speak, everything can seduce, everything can sign, and everything can imitate. But where we no longer always know who, or what, is on the other side of the screen.
