Grab your jeans and come on over—it’s time for an eye exam.
A peculiar white device, part of Sam Altman’s secretive cryptocurrency venture, is taking data for “human verification” inside a Gap store in San Francisco, though the retailer isn’t offering any explanations. This was reported by the Gazetteer.
The device, about the size of a bowling ball and mounted on the wall of a store in the Marina District, captures biometric data by photographing shoppers’ faces with its “glowing orange eyes.”
With a message saying, “At Gap, we believe in originality and authenticity: what makes us human,” the nameplate hints at a collaboration with a company called World to merge human identity with technology.
World, formerly known as WorldCoin and backed by Altman, describes itself as a “true human network” aimed at distinguishing between actual humans and AI. They aspire to create a “world identity” utilizing apps, blockchain technology, and digital tokens.
The orb photographs the consenting participant’s iris and face, generating a unique ID that gets stored on their phone.
The company has set quite an ambitious target: attracting 1 billion users, but as of November, only a small fraction had signed up due to escalating privacy worries surrounding data collection.
To entice participation, World offers cryptocurrency tokens valued at $42 to those who agree to their facial scans. However, this drew criticism as vulnerable populations, including the homeless, were allegedly exploited for financial gain.
Both Gap and World have not provided comments on this matter.
The orb has appeared in various locations including North America, Colombia, and parts of Asia, yet regulatory hurdles have hindered its progress in some European nations.
A representative from World at the Gap store mentioned that the orb only generates an encrypted code and verifies that a person is human, without collecting additional data.
