The space in Rome to try the Orb, the sphere that distinguishes humans from AI

In recent years, artificial intelligence has made it increasingly difficult to recognize a real person as opposed to an identity generated or animated by algorithms.
A node we imagine remote, but it is already here. On social networks, forums, and e-commerce platforms, it is not always clear who is on the other side of the screen. On dating apps like Tinder, 55 percent of members say they have come across fake accounts.
That's why World Network, the project co-founded by Sam Altman, Ceo of OpenAI, has just opened a new space in Rome, on Via del Tritone. The idea is simple: to prove that whoever sits in front of a screen is a real person. 

At the center of the system is a small spherical device, the Orb, a kind of "electronic eye" designed to check the humanity of those who present themselves before it. Three have been installed in the new space in Rome to allow for recordings. The intention, say the promoters, is to place them in stations, airports and shopping malls in the future as well.
The one in Via del Tritone is not a traditional store, but an open and accessible environment with a lounge area and a shared work table. The configuration is meant to reflect the stated approach of World Network, which bills itself as "the world's largest network of identities and services," built to "allow anyone to experience their humanity online while maintaining privacy." This is the language that accompanies the Roman opening, proposed as one of the first physical places to directly experience the creation of one's World ID.

The space is a unique environment: white walls, minimal furniture and some graphic elements that reproduce the silhouette of arches and columns, an homage to the architecture of Rome and a sign of the platform's commitment to supporting design and creative realities. Without distractions or superfluous elements, the space was designed so that the user experience would be reminiscent of that of an app: you enter and head to one of the Orbs, positioned on wooden pedestals, where you can complete your registration. The process is facilitated by the support of the World Network team, which is present in store to guide users step by step.

As Domus recounted, the system is based on a biometric device the size of a bowling ball. Its job is to scan the iris and convert its structure into a unique and non-reversible cryptographic code, which gives birth to the World ID. The promoters ensure that the eye image is not stored, but transformed on the fly into a hash that is impossible to trace back to the person.

Criticism and investigations have focused on this point: several privacy authorities, from Europe to Kenya, have initiated audits or imposed suspensions, pointing out that the physical collection of biometric data still remains a sensitive act, difficult to control once in circulation. Activists and researchers also question the centralization of the system and the risk of future surveillance scenarios, despite World Network's stated technical guarantees. The company retorts that, with increasingly sophisticated bots and artificial identities, cryptographic proof of humanity will become a necessary infrastructure, designed, it promises, to preserve anonymity. For now, the Orb and its World ID remain an ambitious and controversial experiment, suspended trepromise and awe. But Rome has become one of the first places in the world to take a close look at how the future of digital identity might take shape. And decide whether we want to be part of it.