3 ms·

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

by Retr0id 10mo ago

samename 10mo ago
Do you expect the data collected for age verification will be completely separate from the advertising apparatus? I would expect the incentives would align for this to enhance their advertising options.
- Retr0id 10mo ago
  I'll almost certainly get used for both, but I believe "adult content" is the primary motivator. If it was just for ads they wouldn't even bother announcing it as a "feature", they'd just do it. Also: "Users can check if safeguards have been added to their account and start this process at any time by going to Settings > Account."
  - Jensson 10mo ago
    > If it was just for ads they wouldn't even bother announcing it as a "feature", they'd just do it. Its a feature for advertisers, and investors also wanna know. Did you think you are the customer?
    - Retr0id 10mo ago
      "you can target ads by demographic" is table stakes
      - datsci_est_2015 10mo ago
        Does this factoid contradict their motivation in publishing this information?
- crimsoneer 10mo ago
  It would be a pretty massive GDPR breach if it wasn't, wouldn't it? All the biometrics is "special category" data which you can't play face and loose with.
  - duskdozer 10mo ago
    Depends on how much it earns vs how much it costs in fines
tomasphan 10mo ago
Agreed, see https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-allow-mature-content-chatgpt-adult-verified-users-starting-december-2025-10-14/ https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-allow-mature-content...
- perihelions 10mo ago
  Discussed here at the time, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45604313 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45604313 ("Chat-GPT becomes Sex-GPT for verified adults (twitter.com/sama)")
fakedang 10mo ago
Exactly. Advertising will drive away users unless they are slowly trained into it, which will take time, time that Open AI doesn't have. Meanwhile, the adult market is huge and sureshot revenue from a user base that is more likely to not mind the ads.
dragonwriter 10mo ago
Its for both; the loosened guardrails around sex and the advertising roll-out are both explicitly for logged-in adults, and the age prediction is how they determine the logged-in user is an “adult”.
rsync 10mo ago
It’s worse than that. They want to build “the scream room” from Frank Herbert’s _The Jesus Incident_. There is immense power to wield over someone when you know what they did in the scream room.
- BatteryMountain 10mo ago
  Mmm juicy kompromat
KaiserPro 10mo ago
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.

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

by Retr0id 10mo ago

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

Do you expect the data collected for age verification will be completely separate from the advertising apparatus? I would expect the incentives would align for this to enhance their advertising options.

Retr0id 10mo ago
I'll almost certainly get used for both, but I believe "adult content" is the primary motivator. If it was just for ads they wouldn't even bother announcing it as a "feature", they'd just do it. Also: "Users can check if safeguards have been added to their account and start this process at any time by going to Settings > Account."
- Jensson 10mo ago
  > If it was just for ads they wouldn't even bother announcing it as a "feature", they'd just do it. Its a feature for advertisers, and investors also wanna know. Did you think you are the customer?
  - Retr0id 10mo ago
    "you can target ads by demographic" is table stakes
    - datsci_est_2015 10mo ago
      Does this factoid contradict their motivation in publishing this information?
crimsoneer 10mo ago
It would be a pretty massive GDPR breach if it wasn't, wouldn't it? All the biometrics is "special category" data which you can't play face and loose with.
- duskdozer 10mo ago
  Depends on how much it earns vs how much it costs in fines

tomasphan 10mo ago

Agreed, see https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-allow-mature-content-chatgpt-adult-verified-users-starting-december-2025-10-14/ https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-allow-mature-content...

perihelions 10mo ago
Discussed here at the time, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45604313 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45604313 ("Chat-GPT becomes Sex-GPT for verified adults (twitter.com/sama)")

fakedang 10mo ago

Exactly. Advertising will drive away users unless they are slowly trained into it, which will take time, time that Open AI doesn't have. Meanwhile, the adult market is huge and sureshot revenue from a user base that is more likely to not mind the ads.

dragonwriter 10mo ago

Its for both; the loosened guardrails around sex and the advertising roll-out are both explicitly for logged-in adults, and the age prediction is how they determine the logged-in user is an “adult”.

rsync 10mo ago

It’s worse than that. They want to build “the scream room” from Frank Herbert’s _The Jesus Incident_. There is immense power to wield over someone when you know what they did in the scream room.

BatteryMountain 10mo ago
Mmm juicy kompromat

KaiserPro 10mo ago

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.