The Wall Street Journal published an article introducing World, another startup company of OpenAI founder Sam Altman. Ultraman imagined a future like this:You need to constantly prove that you are not a robot. His World “universal app” is the answer—but first,He needs to look deep into your eyes.
Imagine a world filled with basketball-sized “orb” devices that peer into our eyes and capture the unique patterns of the irises. These ubiquitous Orbs willAllowing us to complete any action that requires identity verification, online or offline, from buying bread to paying taxes.
The World App founding team, including CEO Alex Brania and his co-founder, Sam Altman of OpenAI, is envisioning a scenario in the not-too-distant future:As AI agents become highly pervasive and anthropomorphic, humans will need to prove they are real individuals through constant eyeball verification, to prevent AI from pretending to be human in scenarios such as payment platforms and social networks.
In order to accelerate the promotion of its "anonymous human proof" system,The company recently launched a mini app store within the app(Supports iOS and Android devices). This move is part of its strategy to create a "universal app". Such super applications are already very common in Asia. Platforms such as WeChat, Grab, Alipay and KakaoTalk allow users to complete a full range of services such as shopping, social networking, ordering food, and hailing taxis.
WorldAPP
World's mini-app store currently includes functions such as cryptocurrency sending and receiving, real-person authentication chat, micro-loans, etc. The team hopes to use this to build a huge ecosystem covering more than 1 billion users. As the authentication system expands,They expect the main competitor to be Elon Musk’s universal app X.
"Given that X is currently mainly a social network, I think it will take time for the two sides to truly confront each other." Brania said on Tuesday. X, which has not yet launched payment services, is temporarily keeping its distance from World, which has not officially entered the US market.
But Branya predictsThe two will compete head-on in about 12 months.If the prediction comes true, this will become an important node for promoting universal applications in the Western market. Previously,Most such attempts end in failure, because for European and American users who are accustomed to using Apple/Android app stores, the appeal of super apps is limited.
Ultraman's deep involvement may intensify competition between World and X, considering Musk’s combative personality and his existing conflicts with Ultraman. Brania revealed that the head of OpenAI is by no means a nominal consultant: "He participates in almost all major decisions I make, and we communicate multiple times a week."
At present, most Americans are still unfamiliar with World. If they have heard of it, it is mostly because of its unique Orb biometric identification system.The device has scanned the irises of 11 million people worldwide, but encountered regulatory resistance from many countries - more than 12 countries suspended its operations or investigated its data processing methods.
Orb has scanned 11 million people worldwide
Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz recently predicted in a podcast that as U.S. cryptocurrency policy relaxes,World may gain legal status this year. But Branya declined to say when the iris scanning site would be established in the United States, saying only that it was a "priority."
In the face of regulatory concerns, Brania showed strong confidence: "I know the compliance of the system. It even exceeds the existing standards of regulatory agencies. The only problem is how to make them fully understand." In order to strengthen privacy protection, World recently hired a former X executive as privacy director.
Other biometric systems have caused unease among users and governments. In the early days of iPhone's FaceID, people were concerned about its security vulnerabilities. World emphasizes that its system is anonymous and secure and only verifies human identity rather than confirming specific individuals.
Thiago Sada, the company's chief product officer, pointed out that increasingly sophisticated AI technology will force Internet commerce to rely on such verification. For example, Argentinian developer Diego launched Credit, a micro-loan application based on World Network. The app offers unsecured loans from $5 to $100, but will ban defaulters. Due to the anti-counterfeiting features of the World system, users cannot escape punishment by creating a new account. Diego said,Since its launch in December last year, the app has attracted 70,000 Argentinian users and has become profitable.
Brania firmly believes that time will prove the security of World: "The way this system is built makes it far more secure than potential competitors, and the privacy protection technology we use is rocket science level and has never been seen before." In the end,Trust will be a key factor in determining the fate of both companies.