Reddit Set to Adopt World ID Retina Scans to Battle AI Bot Infestation...

“Eye” didn’t see this coming… 

Reddit is apparently tired of pretending it can tell the difference between a real user and a sleep-deprived AI bot with a My Little Pony fetish. The latest move by the world's favorite internet swamp is to scan everyone’s eyeballs for entry. Seriously. Reddit is in talks to roll out Sam Altman’s World ID retina-scanning tech, so you can keep posting memes and stock tips… anonymously… as long as you’re willing to let an Orb stare deep into your soul. 

(Source: Giphy) 

Now if you’re thinking, “Isn’t that the scam crypto thing that gives you magic internet money for letting a shiny bowling ball take a selfie with your iris?”... ding, ding, ding… you win a Worldcoin. In short, World ID is the brainchild of Altman’s Tools for Humanity, a group that apparently looked at 1984 and thought, “Needs more blockchain.” The pitch is simple: scan your eye, get a unique ID, collect your Worldcoin, and, theoretically, get paid when the robots finally take all the jobs. 

(Source: Investing.com) 

So, why in the hell is Reddit looking to adopt this now (and presumably piss off even more of its users)? Well for one, Reddit’s getting squeezed by governments and regulators who think “age verification” means something more than clicking “I’m over 18” on a pop-up. There’s also the small matter of AI bots flooding the site with content so unhinged, even r/AmItheAsshole is getting existential. In fact, Steve Huffman, Reddit’s CEO, has already admitted that AI and new laws are going to force the company to finally check if users are, you know, actual humans. Case in point: Reddit looked to sue an orgy of Swiss researchers who used AI to impersonate users just to see how easy it was. Spoiler: it was way too easy. 

But with that said, don’t worry you degenerates, Reddit promises to “preserve both the humanness and anonymity of Reddit.” Sounds legit. Of course, privacy advocates are already prepping their “I told you so” rage-comments. Storing biometric data is one thing, but trusting a for-profit company with a literal map of your eyeballs is another. Sure, World ID swears the iris scans are encrypted, fragmented, and scattered across secret servers like the world’s lamest treasure hunt. But still, nobody’s actually solved the “what if your phone gets run over by a truck” problem. Account recovery is still the weak link, so somewhere, somehow, a copy of your iris hash has to be recoverable. 

(Source: Semafor) 

Meaning, if there’s one universal law of the internet, it’s that anything valuable enough to be stored in “secure enclaves” will eventually be found, copied, and probably sold to the highest bidder on some Telegram channel. On the other hand, for all the ones who say “I’ll just skip the Orb and keep my anonymity,” cool… expect Reddit, like every other site, is moving toward a future where non-verified accounts look sus as hell. The bots and sock puppets will get weeded out, but so will anyone who doesn’t want to hand over a retinal scan just to post in r/shittysuperpowers. Translation: It’s a major fun police shift, that definitely isn’t fun. 

(Source: Giphy) 

And yet, this could be the new normal… everywhere. Governments want age checks, users want privacy, and platforms want to not get sued into oblivion. Biometric verification is suddenly the belle of the ball, and Reddit’s just the first one shameless enough to admit it’s considering the tech. If this goes through, expect every other social platform to start eyeing your eyeballs… while still monetizing your eyeballs. Oh, and if you’re worried this is all a little much, just wait until Reddit buys 23andMe and starts asking for a cheek swab before you can post on r/wallstreetbets. At that point, you might as well throw your DNA on the blockchain and call it a day LOL. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In the end, this is all about proving humans are humans and not bots, that’s all it is. And with AI thrown into the mix, it’s getting to the point where this is the next logistical move to mitigate the problem on social platforms… whether we like it or not. And considering Reddit shares are up 15%, over the last five trading days, it appears investors could care two sh*ts about the negatives of it (mainly because they now have new AI ad tools to distract analysts with). Meaning, keep your eyes on this story and place your bets accordingly. Until next time, friends…

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.