Sam Altman’s ‘body verification’ company thinks its eye-scanning ball could solve ticket scalping problem

Among them, there is a new tool called Concert Kit that can help bands and artists fight against ticket bots.

The new feature relies on improved World ID, a sphere-based verification system that scans a user’s eyeballs and face to create a “human proof” signature that exists on the user’s mobile device. “It’s basically like a little human passport for the internet that allows you to prove on apps and websites that you are a real and unique person without having to reveal any information about yourself,” Tiago Sada, chief product officer at Tools for Humanity, told Engadget.

Now, as more and more apps and services begin to support World ID, “Human Passport” can unlock some new features. Combined with the Concert Kit, it allows artists to designate specific ticket pools only for “verified” people. The concept is a bit like how pre-sales work currently, where an artist (or his team) reserves a specific number of tickets for people who set up a World ID. These people can then use their World ID to get ticketing codes from Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, AXS or other major ticketing platforms.

Tools for Humanity said that because World ID is limited to actual, “verified” humans, the system is not susceptible to the same tactics used by bots to disrupt the ticket-buying process for many people. Artists can also control the level of verification they want to require from fans. (The new World ID app also allows people to set up accounts via selfie checks without ready access to the sphere.)

It’s unclear to what extent Concert Kit can solve the massive bot-selling problem plaguing the concert industry. So far, Bruno Mars plans to use the solution on his upcoming world tour – however, the number of World ID-verified humans his tickets will be reserved for, however, has not been revealed – and starting today, the concert kit is available to other artists.

Concert Kit is one of several new integrations and updates for World ID announced by Tools for Humanity at an event in San Francisco on Friday. Tinder, started testing World ID as age verification solution earlier this year in Japansupport will be rolled out globally. However, in the US, Tinder integration will not be used for age verification. Instead, it will indicate whether there is a real “verified” person behind a given profile.

On the enterprise side, Zoom and DocuSign have also added support for World ID to help enterprises verify that a real person (not a deepfake or bot) is joining their video call or signing important documents. Tools for Humanity has also launched a standalone World ID app to separate its authentication tools from its existing crypto wallet app.

These updates are Tools for Humanity’s latest attempt to make their orb-based verification system, which has been widely derided, more mainstream and perhaps less dystopian. (Elsewhere, spheres have begun to appear in some new places, e.g. san francisco gorge.)

As far as human tools go, they seem to realize that a lot of people aren’t ready to have their faces scanned on a bunch of orbs controlled by Ultraman just to “prove” they’re human. I asked Sada, Tools for Humanity’s chief product officer, what he would say to those who think the company is solving the wrong problem: It should actually be up to ticketing platforms, dating apps, and other services to beef up their security and bot-fighting tools, rather than relying on users to “prove” their humanity.

He said it was a “completely understandable issue” and compared it to some people’s initial discomfort with technologies like Apple’s TouchID or FaceID. “Not everyone has to do this upfront, and that’s important,” he said. “This is optional. If you want to have a World ID, you can get an enhanced experience.”