OpenAI co-founder says scanning everyone's irises can stop AI fakes

SAN JOSE - Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, has launched a project called World that seeks to use scans of people's irises to help distinguish footage of real people from deepfaked ones.

The company's World initiative comes after its own AI, ChatGPT, opened up the potential to create realistic, albeit fake, footage of a person's face. The iris scan is used to create a "World ID" profile and can only be conducted using the Orb, a scanner developed by World, the German news agency (dpa) reported.

The project largely seeks to address issues like deepfakes, where AI is used to create realistic fake videos of individuals. One current concern is that scammers could use deepfakes to impersonate a company boss on a video call and trick employees into transferring money.

World's solution, named "Deep Face", involves matching videos against eye scan recordings. The company plans to offer its own camera interface on users' devices, eliminating the need for collaboration with tech platforms.

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

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

Privacy concerns about Worldcoin's original solutions led to it being banned in Spain. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, about one-third of the population has had their eyes scanned. In Lisbon, one in seven residents reportedly has 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 datasets in various locations, enhancing security against data theft.

Altman stressed the importance of verifying human identity in the era of AI, stating that current infrastructure is inadequate. Co-founder Alex Blania said World seeks to collaborate with governments, offering technology for online identification that requires only partial ID data. He noted that a global protocol for this would be advantageous.

World announced that it needs 1,000 times more Orbs to achieve its growth plans. Currently, there are locations where people can be scanned, and in the future, Orbs may be sent to homes in regions like Latin America. However, the long-term business model for Orb remains unclear. - BERNAMA-dpa