The UK is set to become the next major launchpad for Sam Altman’s controversial identity project, as the OpenAI CEO’s Worldcoin begins rolling out its eye-scanning ‘Orbs’ to verify users as human in an era of increasingly convincing AI.

Starting this Thursday (12 June), London residents will be able to step into biometric kiosks equipped with the spherical devices which scan a person’s iris to confirm their ‘humanness’. 

Developed by Tools for Humanity, the Altman founded firm behind Worldcoin, the Orb generates a secure, digital World ID designed to distinguish people from artificial intelligence, allowing users to prove they are a real person online and, in some cases, verify their age and nationality.

Following the London launch, the devices will be deployed across major UK cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast, and Glasgow. According to Damien Kieran, chief legal and privacy officer at Tools for Humanity, the Orbs will initially be available in dedicated spaces in shopping centres and on high streets.

Tools for Humanity claim these World IDs can verify humanness across digital services while maintaining anonymity using cryptographic techniques called zero-knowledge proofs based on the unique characteristics of a user’s iris, but without disclosing personal information or services being able to track users across the internet.

The ultimate goal of Worldcoin is to give people a form of identification that cannot be stolen or duplicated by machines.

According to figures released as part of the announcement, 67% of people in the UK say they trust the internet less than ever before, while over half (53%) report questioning the authenticity of online content at least once a day.

With its system, the company hopes to deliver a privacy-preserving, decentralised digital protocol designed to distinguish humans from AI and protect digital systems from abuse.

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So far, around 13 million people in countries including Germany, Portugal, Japan, Korea and Thailand have used the tech to verify their identities using just 1,500 Orbs, but Tools for Humanity plans to ship another 12,000 devices over the coming year.

However, the project has already faced scrutiny from privacy watchdogs.

On the initial launch of Worldcoin back in 2023, the ICO said it would be ‘making enquiries’ regarding the collection of personal data by the firms’ eye-scanning tech, although Spanish authorities went even further last year when the country’s Agency for Data Protection ordered Worldcoin to cease operations over data collection concerns after people reportedly lined up in cities like Madrid and Barcelona to use Orbs.

Likewise, other countries, including Germany, Argentina, Colombia, South Korea, and Kenya, have all opened investigations into the Worldcoin ID project.