Sam Altman’s leadership at OpenAI and his role in developing World’s biometric identity system have put him at the center of an increasingly contentious question: Can the same tech ecosystem help create AI-driven trust problems while also building the infrastructure meant to solve them?
Sam Altman’s OpenAI and World Roles Raise Questions
In an April 2026 conversation with Benzinga, Trevor Traina, chief business officer at Tools for Humanity, rejected the idea that Altman’s roles represent a conflict of interest.
Traina argued that Altman recognized AI’s potential to create new problems around identity and authenticity while simultaneously helping develop a human-centered solution.
He said the situation should be viewed as "the absolute opposite" of a conflict, noting that World is designed as an open protocol that AI and non-AI companies alike can use.
