Sam Altman's Eye-Scanning ID Project Launches In US 71
Sam Altman's eye-scanning identity project, now called World, officially launched in the U.S. with six in-person registration sites. CNBC reports: Here's how it works: You go up to an Orb, a spherical biometric device, and it spends about 30 seconds scanning your face and iris, then creates and stores a unique "IrisCode" for you verifying that you're a human and that you've never signed up before. Then you get some of the project's cryptocurrency, WLD, for free, and you can use your World ID as a sign-in with integrated platforms, which currently include an open API integration with Minecraft, Reddit, Telegram, Shopify and Discord.
Starting Thursday, the company is opening six flagship U.S. retail locations where people can sign up to have their eyeball scanned: Austin, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Nashville, Miami and San Francisco. At an event in San Francisco on Wednesday, the venture announced two high-profile partnerships: Visa will introduce the "World Visa card" this summer, available only to people who have had their irises scanned by World, and the online dating giant Match Group will begin a pilot program testing out World ID and some age verification tools with Tinder in Japan.
Starting Thursday, the company is opening six flagship U.S. retail locations where people can sign up to have their eyeball scanned: Austin, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Nashville, Miami and San Francisco. At an event in San Francisco on Wednesday, the venture announced two high-profile partnerships: Visa will introduce the "World Visa card" this summer, available only to people who have had their irises scanned by World, and the online dating giant Match Group will begin a pilot program testing out World ID and some age verification tools with Tinder in Japan.
Creepy as fuck, no thanks (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sure there's some good use for this and of course it will never be a used in any way.
And Sam is a good guy!
Hard pass.
I am not an atomic playboy (Score:2)
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Giving it to yet another database changes nothing for you.
Re: Creepy as fuck, no thanks (Score:1)
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The creepy stuff aside, biometrics as a form of identification are just stupid. Even if it wasn't for nonsense like when Apple's face recognition would identify basically all Asian people as the same person, it's just fundamentally flawed. Basically, it uses features that are out in the open for anyone to gather for identification. That leaves it open for circumvention methods with no way to change the authentication details. It's just stupid.
Also, 30 seconds?! Seriously? Who wants to wait that long these d
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In the security industry we never trusted biometrics as a sole source of identification, it **ALWAYS** had to be combined with some other factor such as a key card.
And I don't know where the 30 second decision came from, professional quality scanners can get images of both irises in less than 5 seconds as long as the user is anywhere within a 1 meter circle centered 2 meters from the camera.
Having said the above, the hand scanners at the Amazon stores use a technology which is currently impossible to falsif
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The Amazon scanners use deep vein mapping, which is simple, inexpensive, and extremely robust. I used to have to support the RSI Handkey hand geometry scanners, and everyone in the industry (except the salescritters) hated them.
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I'm sure there's some good use for this and of course it will never be [abused] in any way.
And Sam is a good guy!
Hard pass.
FTFY.
But not Insightful. Deserved Funny, though the discussion apparently contains no humor according to the excellent moderators.
Biggest laugh to think about possible solutions? As if Slashdot had the resources to fix anything. I'm increasingly surprised the website manages to stay online. First thing to fix would be the financial model?
I don't think so! (Score:4, Insightful)
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They don't want him, or his tech. They have much better already (well, China does, don't know about North Korea).
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Biometrics are too easily forced (Score:5, Interesting)
Biometrics in most cases are too easy to have forced on you. Law enforcement in certain cases have been authorized to force people to use biometrics, as in physically forcing them the provide fingerprints or face scans. Never. I will use things in my head only. I will share my accounts with whoever I trust and any biometric system that I use will be used in a way that uniquely identifies an account to the system without necessarily tying that account to a real human identity.
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without necessarily tying that account to a real human identity
I thought about that, but te problem is pets don't live as long as I do.
Besides, I don't trust the dog to not abuse his mug to order and pay for way too many snacks at the online store.
Re:Biometrics are too easily forced (Score:5, Informative)
>"Biometrics in most cases are too easy to have forced on you. Law enforcement in certain cases have been authorized to force people to use biometrics, as in physically forcing them the provide fingerprints or face scans."
Yes, and it is wrong and creepy. HOWEVER, those are the WORST possible biometrics and HAVE BEEN and WILL BE abused. You leave your fingerprints EVERYWHERE, just like your DNA, and your face can be observed anywhere. And an iris scan can also be abused- it can be seen with any high-resolution camera that glints a normal glare, even from a good photograph.
The ideal and *ONLY* biometrics we should support, and only when needed, are those that cannot be enrolled or collected or observed without the person KNOWING and AGREEING to it each and every time. Two examples are retinal scan (which cannot be seen without a close camera looking INTO the eye) and another would be deep vein palm scan (which reads patterns of live veins well under the skin of an area rarely observed). Both are unique and better than fingerprints. Neither are "latent" or left anywhere. Neither can be "collected" without the person knowing. Both require some amount of knowledge and cooperation from the person to "read". The deep vein one is also fast, cheap, and easy to use.
We should absolutely limit when/where biometrics are used to specific, absolute, legitimate need. And when there is that need, it should be limited to the kind that cannot be abused (like I illustrated, above).
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I know there's light shining in my eye all the time, but I still don't want anyone doing it on purpose any time I can avoid it. Vein scan it is. Hey, maybe we can figure out a way to get that system to provide us some health care, too!
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Amazon Healthcare is a real thing already.
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhealth.amazon.com%2F [amazon.com]
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Amazon Healthcare is a real thing already.
I presume you don't mean that in the sense that one really gets care from them.
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Retina patterns change too quickly to be practical anyway, especially in the old and the young.
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>"Retina patterns change too quickly to be practical anyway, especially in the old and the young."
Retinal scans are also not very convenient (in addition to being complex and typically large and requiring being very still, etc).
I have yet to find a better general-purpose/secure/practical/safe biometric than deep vein palm scan, at least based on my research. I have actually enrolled in one at a hospital before and was shocked at the concept and simplicity. That is the one I stand behind the most. I am
Re:Biometrics are too easily forced (Score:4, Interesting)
I worked in the physical security field for over a decade and a half, and was one of the Alpha testers for the deep vein hand scanners at Amazon. At that time the RSI Handkey was the primary hand scanner in the industry, which measured hand geometry (yeah, stupid idea). Everyone in the industry hated them because they were buggy, went out of calibration if you looked at them wrong, and wouldn't work if you got a bee sting or something. (Well, not everyone hated them, the salescritters thought they were great because they were expensive and generated tons of service calls.) When I was presented with these hand scanners I was dubious at best, and was authentically shocked at how well it worked.
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Yeah, the hand measurement stuff was total junk.
The palm deep vein scan was/is a brilliant idea. It senses live-presence, is completely passive, is low power, it prevents collection of anything latent (even the fingertips are nowhere near any sensor) and they are so damn simple- looks like just a IR sensor chip at the base of a plastic box connected via USB. More advanced ones might even be able to "see" bloodflow as further "proof of life"/validity (in addition to body temp/IR emission).
They showed me th
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Both require some amount of knowledge and cooperation from the person to "read".
Cooperation? Really? How about I hit you in the head and place your hand under one of these scanners while you are knocked out... where is your cooperation then? While I have you restrained, I could cut off your eyelid and place your head in straps so it can not move. Lots of cooperation needed there too eh?
We do not live in a world of Law. We live in a world where laws are proposed and are maybe followed and maybe enforced... if anyone cares to actually do so.
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>"How about I hit you in the head and place your hand under one of these scanners while you are knocked out.."
You know what I meant. I never said one couldn't be physically compelled to provide a biometric through physical force. No biometric can protect against that. Even something you know can be compelled with a gun pointed to your head or that of a loved one.
One can't *nefariously* collect/read the mentioned biometrics (like deep vein palm scan or retinal scan), aside from physical force (or perha
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I've seen this movie before. When the villain breaks into my secure facility and tries to use my extracted eyeball/severed hand to bypass the security systems, they'll be seriously disappointed.
Oh Hell No (Score:3)
Hell No.
Imagine if this gets a rug pull. Or more likely, the value of the crypto is ZERO, and you have provided your most unchangeable biometric markers for the price of a gumball.
Even better, people start getting killed or maimed for their real biometric data.
No no no no no no no
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Imagine if this gets a rug pull.
I can't imagine that it won't. I really can't.
Like 23andme, there's no business model there that doesn't involve selling that data to third parties, so they either do so regardless of what they promise, or go bankrupt, and the buyer does.
Like 23andme.
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Actually iris patterns change over time, in the security industry images are generally assumed to be good for 5-10 years and then have to be retaken.
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Imagine if this gets a rug pull. Or more likely, the value of the crypto is ZERO, and you have provided your most unchangeable biometric markers for the price of a gumball.
At the time I'm writing this, Worldcoin is worth $1.06. An article on The Verge says participating in the scam, whoops, I mean scan will net you a cool 16 coins. These days, that's about the cost of a meal at Chick-Fil-A.
The nearest scanning location to me is in Miami, and I've got no shortage of reasons to nope out of that:
The privacy aspect.
I could literally just do Uber Eats for a bit and earn more money, if I was that desperate.
Miami is a miserable trip from central Florida even in an ICE car, and abs
what problem does this solve? (Score:3)
It doesn't matter "how it works" when it's not clear what it is for. What problem does it solve? And for whom? And how is it deployed? And why is this part of an openAI portfolio?
Don't we have authentication already? Why do we want to involve Sam Altman in it?
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It solves the problem of you giving them your biometric in return for a consideration that costs them nothing.
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The problem it solves is simple: Rich folks needed an excuse to own more of your data. Biometrics is just data to them, and they need to own *ALL* the data. Even the data that is "you."
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Once the proof of concept works, its a mere 10 million dollar bribe away from putting this in real ID and making everyone get a ball scan before flying. Scanning that many balls will need A LOT of scanners, and of course proprietary data storage and API access fees.
A Serious Answer (Score:2)
The problem this solves is people signing up for multiple accounts to promote spam, get around blocks, vote multiple times, etc... If your account is linked to your identity then you can't make multiple accounts.
Of course that creates a ton of it's own problems. One of them being accounts are regularly banned based on other people claiming issues from that account. Give 100 people a dollar each to report that account and bam, banned for life. Or even better, give me $200 or I'll get those other people t
Privacy Rapists abound! (Score:2)
You go up to an Orb, a spherical biometric device, and it spends about 30 seconds scanning your face and iris, then creates and stores a unique "IrisCode" for you verifying that you're a human
Privacy Rapists keep privacy rapin'
What the fuck is wrong with these guys (Score:2)
What fucked up culture do startup tech bros live in, that they see all the technology used by Bond villains to enslave the world and think, "hey I could make that work!"??
Dudes, overreaching anti-privacy abuseable tech got a bad rep for a reason.
Re:What the fuck is wrong with these guys (Score:4, Insightful)
What fucked up culture do startup tech bros live in, that they see all the technology used by Bond villains to enslave the world and think, "hey I could make that work!"?? Dudes, overreaching anti-privacy abuseable tech got a bad rep for a reason.
These are the kids that read all the same sci-fi stories we read as kids, but identified with the villains and wanted to be the ones to create the dystopia everyone else has to suffer. We read a warning, they read a blueprint.
Ah yes (Score:3)
These are the same shitheads who rocked up to impoverished villages and got them to scan their eyeballs for some pittance reward.
Well, that's something (Score:2)
Something you know
Something you have
Something that can be popped out of your skull
If needed for something that matters
I know this sounds trite
But I have
A bad feeling about this
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Something you know Something you have Something that can be popped out of your skull If needed for something that matters
I know this sounds trite But I have A bad feeling about this
You and a lot of people in here have that bad feeling. As part of my work, my fingerprints - the original biometric - has been on file with the FBI since the mid 70's without any problems at all.
What is the Slashdot analysis of how this will be used for evil?
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>"my fingerprints [] has been on file with the FBI since the mid 70's without any problems at all. [] how this will be used for evil?"
You are kidding, right?
Your FBI fingerprints are in a master database that is searched EVERY time they collect prints at someplace "interesting" by countless thousands of law enforcement and other agencies every day. You have probably been searched without probable cause countless millions of times now. You could easily been hauled into an investigation where you have t
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Yep, and there is no going back. Once they have them, they *always* have them. But yeah, it is hard to know what the future will hold with such stuff; so it can make someone who is technologically savvy extremely paranoid.
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>"my fingerprints [] has been on file with the FBI since the mid 70's without any problems at all. [] how this will be used for evil?"
You are kidding, right?
Your FBI fingerprints are in a master database that is searched EVERY time they collect prints at someplace "interesting" by countless thousands of law enforcement and other agencies every day. You have probably been searched without probable cause countless millions of times now.
Are you done yet?
You could easily been hauled into an investigation where you have to then expend time, energy, and money trying to prove your innocence of something.
Ima tell you something now that's gonna make your head asplode.
There are jobs, and careers where you might be handling sensitive material. You would need a clearance. So you get an actual investigation into your background. And depending on the level and the work, it can get pretty in-depth. I've had multiple background checks.
And they aren't looking for angels. They are looking for honesty, and red flags. But wait! There's more! They knew how much money I had in my bank accounts, and
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>"There are jobs, and careers where you might be handling sensitive material. You would need a clearance. So you get an actual investigation into your background. And depending on the level and the work, it can get pretty in-depth. I've had multiple background checks"
They shouldn't need fingerprints to do a background check.
>"If that's too big an imposition, don't get a job with a clearance"
I won't. But there are other situations where they want to collect prints as well, not just for clearances or j
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>"There are jobs, and careers where you might be handling sensitive material. You would need a clearance. So you get an actual investigation into your background. And depending on the level and the work, it can get pretty in-depth. I've had multiple background checks"
They shouldn't need fingerprints to do a background check.
The collect them for two reasons. One is part of th background check. The other is if sensitive data is compromised, and the dust for prints to see who might have been involved.
>"If that's too big an imposition, don't get a job with a clearance"
I won't. But there are other situations where they want to collect prints as well, not just for clearances or jobs, which are also objectionable.
This wasn't any type of attack on your decision or choices, I was just pointing out that it shouldn't be necessary, it *does* pose risk and danger, and it answered your question about how it could be used for "evil".
I don't make the rules, and exactly what risk or danger is there? Some of this FBI gonna get you stuff just seems a bit like conspiracies. Somehow, I haven't been arrested or even caught up in some hypothetical sting or dragnet in the 50 years since I had them taken.
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They shouldn't need fingerprints to do a background check.
They use those prints for two purposes.
First, to see if you are already in the databases
(for example, are you using an alias?).
Second, they keep them on file so that when
something bad happens in proximity to what
you are being cleared for, they can see if
your fingerprints are all over it.
The actual background check is only the smallest
and beginning of the many things you are consenting to
when you apply for a clearance.
I (and my fingerprints) are in so many federal
and state databases that I could never disapp
You are the carbon... (Score:1)
Scan my brown eye (Score:4, Funny)
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Does it come with a free barcode tattoo? (Score:2)
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preferably with one of these barcodes which contain the number 666, so you would be able to buy and sell.
Are any of these anti-Orb comments from humans? (Score:2)
I wonder how many anti-Orb critical comments on this post are from actual humans? And how many are auto-generated by AI? AI, which may be trying to shut down a future threat to its evil plans to subjugate humanity.
Minority Report in reverse? (Score:2)
...so now they will be after my wallet and my eyes too?
But all in all this is the idea. Some way to confirm I am myself to avoid ID scams. I'd actually like to set up my accounts to limit withdrawals and only allow the big ones (or per day/week/month overlimit) after such in-person each-occurrence identification at the booth.
In 3 years or less (Score:2)
In 3 years or less the database of dumb asses that fell for this shit will be hacked. Run from these idiots like Altman promoting this snake oil.
Another Useless Billionare After Your Privacy (Score:2)
2 words - Tokenized Biometrics (Score:1)
2 words - Tokenized Biometrics
The insanity of it (Score:2)
You have all this horrible Orwellian surveillance going on with these companies trying to find everything about you down to your last bowel movement, and for what? So I can get an email 'hey, we noticed you've recently bought a dishwasher, do you want to buy another one? For, you know, your dishwasher collection?' How does knowing which colour my neighbour's jacket is help them sell more of whatever shit they're selling?
At least the idea of a repressive totalitarian government using mass surveillance to qua
Re:The insanity of it (Score:4, Interesting)
You have all this horrible Orwellian surveillance going on with these companies trying to find everything about you down to your last bowel movement, and for what? So I can get an email 'hey, we noticed you've recently bought a dishwasher, do you want to buy another one? For, you know, your dishwasher collection?' How does knowing which colour my neighbour's jacket is help them sell more of whatever shit they're selling?
At least the idea of a repressive totalitarian government using mass surveillance to quash any dissent, while of course evil, makes sense for said totalitarian government. I don't see how this does. Although I remember reading stories of police buying biometric data from private companies for their policing purposes. So maybe Orwell's original vision is starting to come true after all, albeit in a roundabout way.
Data collection / aggregation is simply an outward symptom of the greed that has driven the tech-bro culture that gave rise to Silicon Valley in the first place, and has now led us to a world where reality is shaped by algorithms controlled by greedy men, trying desperately to feed their greed no matter how much they already own. There's a believable argument to be made that Donald Trump's two elections were conjured into existence by the algorithm, because whatever else you say about the man, he's good for clicks and ragebait. And he generates a *LOT* of ragebait.
These folks will not be satisfied until they outright OWN us. I'm not talking in the slavery kind of way, they see that as quaint and backwards. No, I'm talking in the, "Your reality is what we tell you it is," way. They won't be satisfied until you are born, shoved in a room with your only access to the outside through their technology, and every moment of your life is cataloged, studied, fed through the algorithm, and your entire "worth" is determined by how much you've provided to their algorithm. These first steps may not appear to be that nefarious to those not paying attention, but this is the world those greedy folks get heart palpitations over. They want more. Of everything. Data, money, resources. They want it all. And if you have it, they already think it belongs to them. Their mantra is, "Give of yourself, lesser humans, to feed the holy profit." And no, that's not a misspelling.
People are stupid (Score:2)
I'm sorry but I bet that some - if not many - people will willingly sign up.
Why?
- blockchain!
- technology!
- shopping made easier!
I think it was George Carlin who said: think about how stupid the average person is. Now consider that half the world is below average.