May 25, 2023 - Technology

Scoop: Twitter alum Rebecca Hahn to lead communications for Sam Altman's Tools for Humanity

Credit: Bird

Rebecca Hahn has joined Tools for Humanity — the parent organization of WorldCoin, co-founded by Sam Altman, Alex Blania and Max Novendstern — as chief communications officer, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Hahn was one of the last communications professionals standing at Twitter under Elon Musk, and is now working for OpenAI founder and Musk rival Altman.

  • Before Twitter, Hahn served as chief communications officer for the electric mobility company Bird and was a partner at The Outcast Agency.

Details: Since quietly joining Tools for Humanity this year, Hahn has been slowly building the organization's communications apparatus by hiring Twitter and Bird alum John Wachunas to oversee editorial content and enlisting outside agency support from Riff City Strategies.

Driving the news: This announcement comes on the heels of a $115 million fundraising round led by Blockchain Capital, with investments from a16z Crypto, Bain Capital Crypto, and Distributed Global.

The big picture: While AI has proved to be a lucrative business, winning over the trust of the general public is an uphill battle for communicators.

  • This year's Axios Harris Poll 100 brand reputation survey found that 75% of American adults are concerned about deep fakes and other generative AI content.
  • And it's unclear how customers will take to these biometric recognition technologies that are meant to protect users from the generative AI tools that Altman made so easily available.

What they're saying: "My passion is working with technology and teams with the potential to have a transformative impact on humanity and the planet," Hahn told Axios. "Tools for Humanity and its support of the Worldcoin project are a perfect complement to this passion."

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