Can Sam Altman make proving you’re human seem cool—and essential?

His startup Tools for Humanity’s World ID proof-of-human technology just got some big partners. But it also faces daunting challenges.

[Images: Tools for Humanity]

Hello again, and welcome back to Fast Company’s Plugged In.

Last weekend, I stopped by a gadget kiosk at my local mall—but not to buy a phone case or get a cracked screen replaced. Instead, I was there to get my irises and face scanned by a device called the Orb so I could receive a credential known as a World ID. Its purpose: to provide verifiable proof I’m a human being.

Like everyone on the internet, I have grudgingly accepted the need to complete CAPTCHA tests, a truly irritating form of personhood verification that has been with us for almost 30 years. But until fairly recently, it........

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