Just as one of Sam Altman’s companies, OpenAI, is preparing for an IPO, another one is downsizing. Business Insider reports that Altman’s creepy eyeball-scanning startup, Tools for Humanity, is laying some staff off. The company is best known for World, formerly Worldcoin, a project designed to verify that people interacting online are human, not AI. Its solution to this problem is for people to get their eyes scanned by a somewhat Orwellian soccer-ball-sized device called the Orb in exchange for a unique digital ID code stored on their phone. In theory, this could help filter out annoying AI bots from gaming, social media platforms, or even financial transactions like concert ticket sales. Since launching in 2023, World has failed to reach its ambitious goal of scanning a billion people or about an eighth of the world’s population. As of April, the company says it had verified nearly 18 million people via its Orb device. That’s less than 2 percent of its goal.
Now, it seems the company is shifting strategies. “As we enter the next step of our company strategy and operating priorities, we have made the hard decision to make changes to some roles and teams across the company,” Tools for Humanity wrote in an email sent to staff on Monday, according to Business Insider.
