Thank you, Eminem, and who’d have thought and how could you tell?

The multitude of falsehoods and over-promises of AI aside (Instagram’s AI Chatbots Lie About Being Licensed Therapists), Deep Fakes, that other wonderful outcome that AI hath wrought, is fast becoming a huge problem thanks to the improvements in AI. We’re currently witnessing The Rise of AI-Powered Deepfake Scams and as CNN  reported, “Finance worker pays out $25 million after video call with deepfake ‘chief financial officer.’”

Of course, AI savior, Sam Altman, has a solution: capture the digital identity of, well, every human on the planet.  He first rolled out his orb (nee World Orb) iris scanner in 2023 to create a unique digital identity as proof of being human, which it seems “More than 12 million people have already verified their identity using Orbs, which are available and free to use in more than 20 countries,” said CNN. Not a huge number considering the billions of people on the planet, what to speak of the fact that there are those who are “worried the project could centralize too much power under Altman, who already has an outsized role in what’s expected to be a revolutionary tech transformation.”

Speaking of which, this just in: Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Goes Live In the US: Launches In 6 Major Cities – Key Details & Impact Revealed. “Designed to merge artificial intelligence, biometric verification, and decentralized finance, Worldcoin aims to redefine digital identity and financial inclusion,” said Vocal Media and echoes of Facebook’s original claim of wanting to bring the world closer together, morphed into an updated talking point.

Meanwhile, in the very same week, Sam Altman’s World unveils a mobile verification device, TechCrunch reported.  “Tools for Humanity, the startup behind the World human verification project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, unveiled a mobile device designed to help people determine the difference between a human and an AI agent.”

“Worldcoin’s ambitious vision isn’t without hurdles,” Vocal Media noted:

Privacy Concerns: Advocacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation warn that iris scans could be exploited if hacked.

Regulatory Risks: The SEC and FTC are already investigating Worldcoin’s data practices and token distribution.

Scalability Issues: Can the Orb handle mass adoption? Wait times for scans have already caused frustration in early markets like Kenya.

“Despite this, Altman remains bullish. In a recent tweet, he stated: “Worldcoin isn’t just a currency—it’s a tool to ensure AI benefits all of humanity. The U.S. launch is step one.”

“The main purpose of the Orb Mini is to verify more people, not necessarily to use apps, make calls, or send texts. However, the spokesperson said it’s unclear what the device’s ultimate functionality would be,” said TechCrunch.

Well, considering that Altman would like to capture the world’s biometrics as well, and considering that most people’s mantra when it comes to privacy is ‘what the hell. They already know everything there is to know about me, anyway,’ the retinal scan might be the baby step to capturing the whole package. Literally.

Spain, Portugal and Brazil all banned Altman’s ‘World’ project having “labeled it as a massive privacy breach amongst citizens,” Tech Times noted.

Speaking of all your base are belong to us, “Artificial intelligence powerhouses OpenAI and Google are aggressively lobbying the U.S. government to classify AI training on copyrighted data as “fair use,” said Forbes. “Their objective, framed as a matter of national security, is positioned to secure a competitive advantage against international rivals, particularly China.”

Which is the tech fall-back mantra when bringing the world closer doesn’t apply: it’s a matter of national security. The fear factor.

Altman has labeled this current iteration of tech the  ““Intelligence Age,” suggesting restrictive copyright laws could inadvertently empower geopolitical rivals such as China. He argues that U.S. leadership in AI directly correlates with national security, economic prosperity, and democratic ideals…”

“However, this proposal raises profound legal, ethical, and economic questions, illustrated sharply by recent high-profile cases involving companies like Meta and recent lawsuits by French publishers.

“Meta faced accusations of torrenting copyrighted books, without permission, to train AI models, leading authors to launch a landmark lawsuit. Documents revealed deliberate concealment strategies by Meta, including using Amazon Web Services to mask their actions.”

Meanwhile, who was fighting for OpenAI moving from a not-for-profit to a for-profit, while the work of content creators should be made available to Altman et al for free? Just a note to self and now this just in: OpenAI to remain under non-profit control in change of restructuring plans, the company announced yesterday. “CEO Sam Altman described it as a compromise “that (works) well enough for investors that they’re happy to continue to fund us to a degree we think we will need,” said CNN. Money does matter – at least when it comes to Altman’s interests and bugger all else, what, eh? 

There’s no doubt that humans are being undervalue as we move into Altman’s so-called Age of Intelligence which seems to be the disintermediation of humans themselves, if steps aren’t taken right now to proceed more cautiously, and speaking of Altman’s outsized role, all things considered, the coming era might more appropriately be called the “Age of Alt Man.” Onward and forward.