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What to Know: Is Sam Altman’s Orb missing its moment?
Earlier this month, when Moltbook—a social network for AI agents—went viral, it should have been a validation moment for Tools for Humanity, the startup co-founded by Sam Altman. The company’s eyeball-scanning “Orb” was designed to solve precisely this type of problem. Instead, it may have highlighted the product’s limitations.
For those new to the Orb, it’s a spherical hardware device whose stated purpose is to protect the internet from an influx of AI. After scanning a user’s iris, the Orb provides a code that acts as their “proof of humanity.” Also, Tools for Humanity is a crypto company that toyed with—then abandoned—the idea of offering universal basic income.
Got it? I covered this last year, and I still struggle to briefly explain what this project is or what it’s for. But Trevor Traina, the company’s chief business officer, says that process has gotten a bit easier in recent weeks.
The Moltbook impact — Traina tells me Moltbook’s viral success led to a spike in incoming calls from companies seeking Tools for Humanity’s services. “People who once called us wacky are now just calling,” Traina says. He notes businesses are increasingly turning to Tools for Humanity for a system that can distinguish between online bots and humans—exactly what the Orb was built to do. “When you see a network where autonomous bots talk to each other, that’s the ‘aha’ moment,” Traina says.
Wait a minute — I asked a company spokesperson to share data backing up the claim of booming business, but none was provided by the time of publication. It’s also worth questioning what Moltbook actually signifies. As the buzz around the AI-only social network has faded, questions have emerged: Is the site a sign that AI agents are growing more autonomous, or is it a form of “” that reveals the enduring clunkiness of today’s AI agents?
Poor timing — Give credit where it’s due: Tools for Humanity correctly predicted seven years ago that AI agents would begin to overrun the internet. But despite that foresight, the company now risks missing its moment. “We acknowledge we have a problem,” Traina says. “We’ve been Orb-constrained.” Nearly a year ago, the company announced Orbs would launch in the U.S., with 7,500 intended to be available nationwide by this May. Yet just as AI agents are gaining traction, the Orb’s cultural impact remains negligible. (As I noted last year, convincing people to share their eyeball data is a tough ask—even with free crypto involved.)
Company shift — Faced with a scaling challenge, Tools for Humanity is now exploring alternatives to its flagship product, the Orb. “We’re going to be talking about, in addition to Orb-verified users, other methods—across the stack—to prove liveness and identity,” Traina tells TIME. When asked for more details, he holds back. “I don’t want to scoop us too soon,” he says.
Who to Know: John Coogan
John Coogan, host of the popular Silicon Valley talk show TBPN, has waded into the Anthropic-OpenAI feud in the funniest way possible: by launching “.” Regular newsletter readers know Anthropic took a shot at OpenAI in its Super Bowl ad over the weekend, declaring Claude would never have advertisements—a pointed criticism of OpenAI, which is piloting ads in ChatGPT.
But Coogan and TBPN seem to have decided that if Anthropic won’t do it, they will. Coogan posted on X: “I’ve wanted a Claude ad-supported tier for years. Today, thanks to the Opus 4.6 API, Claude with Ads is here. Please enjoy intelligence too cheap to meter.”
Since Anthropic has already shown it’s willing to shut down uses of its tools it disapproves of—like blocking OpenAI staff from the Claude API—I’d bet this website will be taken down within hours. Enjoy the trolling while it lasts.
AI in Action
CNBC reported that Sam Altman told OpenAI employees in a Friday Slack message that ChatGPT is once again “exceeding 10% monthly growth.” If this rate holds, it would put OpenAI on track to surpass a billion weekly ChatGPT users very soon. The OpenAI CEO also said the company is preparing to launch a new model this week.
What We’re Reading
by Angela Haupt in TIME
My colleague Angela Haupt writes about the latest insult: accusing someone of using AI in their writing. “Being told you sound like AI can feel oddly dehumanizing,” she notes. “That’s why the insult stings,” Steele-Wren says. “It’s not about quality. It’s about identity. It suggests your voice is generic or interchangeable,” and that hurts.
