Worldcoin surged 7.61% after reports linked OpenAI’s biometric social network plans to World ID.

World Network’s WLD token jumped 7.61% after OpenAI was reportedly investigating a biometric social network to authenticate users and restrict accounts created by artificial intelligence.

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, co-founded the cryptocurrency project World, which raised $135 million in a token sale last year from a16z and Bain Capital Crypto. The project’s basic idea is World ID. This decentralized, privacy-focused identity system uses the orb, a specially designed biometric device that complies with privacy regulations by scanning users’ irises to provide unique identities.

The token surged 7.61% to $0.5291 after the report. Data from CoinMarketCap showed that the token’s 24-hour trading volume increased sharply by 763% to $645.76 million, momentarily outpacing most major cryptocurrencies even as it didn’t confirm any official cooperation between OpenAI and World.

World Network faces scrutiny as biometric identity gains traction

Since its debut on July 24, 2023, the World Network has attracted both interest and criticism. Despite the project’s claims to have validated millions of people globally, it has encountered regulatory resistance, including a temporary ban in Kenya and questions about its processing of personal data in the United Kingdom.

However, the concept of linking biometric verification to online identification is still gaining popularity, particularly as generative AI technologies bombard social media with false content and spam. In light of this, focus is now turning to OpenAI itself. According to Forbes, OpenAI is discreetly developing a biometric-based social network to eliminate bot activity on popular platforms like X.

Forbes reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that fewer than 10 individuals are working on the software, which may include a biometric identification component. The World Orb, a cantaloupe-sized eyeball scanner that uses a person’s iris to create a unique, verifiable ID, and Apple’s Face ID have been considered by the team as “proof of personhood.” 

All accounts on OpenAI’s social network would be authenticated by true biometric verification. However, since iris scans are permanent and might be disastrous in the wrong hands, privacy advocates have cautioned about the dangers of identity verification systems like World’s.

Sources stated that users could use AI to create content, such as photographs or movies, on the new software, although it was unclear how the social network would enhance OpenAI’s current product line. Notably, OpenAI’s social network does not yet have a launch schedule, and sources warned that things could change significantly before it is ready to be shown to the public.

The Verge reported in April of last year that OpenAI was working on a social network that resembles the X platform.

Bots undermine trust and authenticity on X

Bot accounts have been a problem on social networks for a long time. These accounts usually imitate human interaction. Specific issue on Twitter, which was made much worse when Elon Musk bought the company, changed its name to X, and fired almost 80% of its employees. This destroyed the trust and safety team responsible for removing bots from the platform and moderating messages.

Notably, Musk vowed war on bots before purchasing Twitter. In an effort to cut down on reply spam, on October 12, Head of Product Nikita Bier revealed that X had eliminated 1.7 million automated accounts that were clogging reply areas with spam, including cryptocurrency solicitations and repetitive advertisements. The effort sought to enhance user experience by emphasizing real interactions. 

Users’ responses ranged from applause for cleaner conversations to concerns about the efficacy of the purge and possible errors in some automated processes. However, they are still an issue.

Altman, who has been using X often since 2008, has been open about how frustrated he is with the bots on the platform. “Somehow AI Twitter/AI Reddit feels very fake in a way it really didn’t a year or two ago,” he wrote on X in September of last year.

Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.