Our approach to age prediction • Hacker News Board

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#181

Post by xyzzy123 » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 9:42 AM UTC

BatteryMountain wrote: post #173

samename wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does OpenAI have an incentive to get age prediction "wrong" so that more people "verify" their ages by uploading an ID or scanning their face, allowing "OpenAI" to collect more demographic data just in time to enable ads?

YES. They all do. Everyone is dripping to get their hands on your biometric data and medical info.

I have worked in this space, and my experience was that usually age / identity verification is driven by regulatory or fraud requirements. Usually externally imposed.

Product managers hate this, they want _minimum_ clicks for onboarding and to get value, any benefit or value that could be derived from the data is miniscule compared to the detrimental effect on signups or retention when this stuff is put in place. It's also surprisingly expensive per verification and wastes a lot of development and support bandwidth. Unless you successfully outsource the risk you end up with additional audit and security requirements due to handling radioactive data. The whole thing is usually an unwanted tarpit.

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#182

Post by KaiserPro » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC

Retr0id wrote: post #34

Everyone's saying this is for advertising, but I don't think it is. It's so they can let ChatGPT sext with adults.

Given that they have terrible data isolation, I would suspect that the biometrics will be used to identify people when they eventually release the alexa/google glasses system they are trying to work on.

That kind of context is super useful for making stored data relevant, and also selling shit to you.

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#183

Post by astura » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 10:02 AM UTC

lordgrenville wrote: post #175

duskwuff wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, hilariously, a lot of those questions require a trip to Wikipedia (or a game guide) today. A lot of them reference bits of 1960s/1970s pop culture which are no longer common knowledge. https://allowe.com/games/larry/tips-manuals/lsl1-age-quiz.ht...

This is fun, I asked AI to come up with some modern ones to check someone is over 30. Zune, Friends, early memes, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, etc https://chat.deepseek.com/share/v9d5ckb8gv9rahwetq

>"Dental plan! Lisa needs braces!" is a workplace chant from...

OMG, That's absolutely unhinged to describe something that takes place entirely in Homer's head as a "workplace chant."

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#184

Post by Traubenfuchs » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 10:26 AM UTC

bilekas wrote: post #75

raincole wrote: post #53

Pretty cool. Evidence that you can do whatever you want under the banner of 'protecting the kids.'

Protecting the kids and fighting terror. Anything that can't be argued against is always used as a justification of people in power who don't want to incite a riot. Politicians, CEOs, Lawyers it's standard practice because it's so effective.

The holy trinity is complete with 3., "money laundering (prevention/detection)".

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#185

Post by tormeh » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 10:29 AM UTC

terminalshort wrote: post #179

BatteryMountain wrote: post #172

Do not give your biometric & photos of ID's or videos of your face to these companies. Nether to third-parties. The potential failure modes here are very high risk and not worth it. Better to unsubscribe and let them know why.

What is the risk? Anyone who wants a picture of my face can already get one by googling my name and going to my linkedin profile.

For phots of ID this is obvious: A data leak, followed by impersonation ("identity theft") and unwelcome invoices and/or empty bank accounts.

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#186

Post by jacquesm » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 10:37 AM UTC

BatteryMountain wrote: post #172

Do not give your biometric & photos of ID's or videos of your face to these companies. Nether to third-parties. The potential failure modes here are very high risk and not worth it. Better to unsubscribe and let them know why.

The real problem is service providers that you are somehow forced to use that will in turn use AI for various data extraction. They are effectively gatewaying your data to the AI companies and not all of them are sufficiently transparent about this. Mobile phone companies, rental agencies and various other service providers in turn are part of the funnel.

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#187

Post by jacquesm » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 10:38 AM UTC

terminalshort wrote: post #179

BatteryMountain wrote: post #172

Do not give your biometric & photos of ID's or videos of your face to these companies. Nether to third-parties. The potential failure modes here are very high risk and not worth it. Better to unsubscribe and let them know why.

What is the risk? Anyone who wants a picture of my face can already get one by googling my name and going to my linkedin profile.

Depending what they get about you the risks range from impersonation all the way to deepfakes.

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#188

Post by jacquesm » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 10:39 AM UTC

samename wrote: post #115

Jonovono wrote: post #98

For some reason ChatGPT has suddenly started thinking i'm a teen. Every answer it starts out "Since you are a teen I will..." and prompts me to upload an ID to show my age. I'm 35.

Does OpenAI have an incentive to get age prediction "wrong" so that more people "verify" their ages by uploading an ID or scanning their face, allowing "OpenAI" to collect more demographic data just in time to enable ads?

Absolutely. Profile building.

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#189

Post by Traubenfuchs » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 10:39 AM UTC

sho_hn wrote: post #17

DarkNova6 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that"

I'm an engineer working on safety-critical systems and have to live with that responsibility every day. When I read the chat logs of the first teenager who committed suicide with the help and encouragement of ChatGPT I was immediately thinking about ways that could be avoided that make sense in the product. I want companies like OpenAI to have the same reaction and try things. I'm just glad they are. I'm also fully a…

We shouldn't build our products and policies around one-off darwin-award level people like that teenager. It reduces the products quality and increases the burden on every user.

I wholeheartedly reject the fully sanitized "good vibes only" nanny world some people desire.

Re: Our approach to age prediction

#190

Post by jacquesm » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 10:39 AM UTC

xyzzy123 wrote: post #181

BatteryMountain wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

YES. They all do. Everyone is dripping to get their hands on your biometric data and medical info.

I have worked in this space, and my experience was that usually age / identity verification is driven by regulatory or fraud requirements. Usually externally imposed. Product managers hate this, they want _minimum_ clicks for onboarding and to get value, any benefit or value that could be derived from the data is miniscule compared to the detrimental effect on signups or retention when this stuff is put in place. It'…

There is no way that the likes of OpenAI can make a credible case for this. What fraud angle would there be? If they were a bank then I can see the point.