What to Know About Worldcoin and the Controversy Around It

Over the past few months, shiny metallic orbs have materialized cities around the world, from New York to Berlin to Tokyo. Its detractors slam them as invasive, dystopian and exploitative. Welcome to the rollout of Worldcoin, an AI-meets-crypto project from OpenAI founder Sam Altman that has stirred endless controversy. The startup uses orbs to scan people's eyes in exchange for a digital ID and possibly some cryptocurrency, depending on what country they live in. Altman and his co-founder Alex Blania hope that Worldcoin will provide a new solution to online identity in a digital landscape rife with scams, bots and even AI imposters.