At a storefront event, a man waiting outside mentioned he had scheduled an appointment for 11:30 but arrived an hour early and was not yet permitted to enter. He was visiting from Poland, and his employer had attended a party the previous night, expressing excitement about the orb concept. The visitor expressed uncertainty about whether it would become a worldwide phenomenon but wanted to be part of the trend. He also voiced concerns about the company’s size, fearing potential undisclosed actions, though he acknowledged that many businesses have aspects that could be perceived as questionable.
Inside the store, World’s Chief Business Officer, Trevor Traina, held a press conference. He described World as “the brainchild of [OpenAI CEO] Sam Altman and [World CEO] Alex Blania” and spoke about the company’s expansion into the United States, referencing his previous role as a US diplomat. Traina highlighted the need for humans to discern reality in the new era of artificial intelligence, suggesting that people might need to verify their humanness.
During the media briefing, questions were raised about data privacy and technical issues, which Traina referred to as the orb’s “stage fright.” When questioned about the unavailability of services in New York, which was noted in the company’s launch details, Traina initially responded that the launch had occurred the previous night. However, the communications team later clarified that while the app was downloadable in New York, it could not yet be used there.
