Identity verification on Claude

xmstan

Funny how no-one talks about AI neutrality like we used to discuss net neutrality. We literally now enter a space where not only you will have to prove your identity with a gov issued ID, but they will silently block you if they deem you try to use it in a way that they don't like. It is literally similar to a situation where your ISP would investigate all sites you visit and limit your bandwidth if they don't like the the ones you enter...

usernamed7

Let us hope this only accelerates the proliferation of local models

JimDabell

OpenAI also has this kind of check. What is especially bad is that if you fail the verification process, they won’t let you retry – you are permanently locked out from the top models. They aren’t clear about this upfront during the process, so make sure the lighting is good when you scan your ID! https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10910291-api-organizatio...

jingpostmedia

Worth noting that China implemented mandatory real-name verification for generative AI services back in 2023. The practical effect wasn't just about preventing misuse -- it created a two-tier system where verified users get full capabilities while others get heavily restricted outputs. What's interesting is how quickly the market adapted: local open-source models partly flourished because they sidestep these requirements. Western providers are now walking a similar path, but without the digital identity infrastructure China already had in place.

badgersnake

How does a company verify its age?

Artoooooor

Every time I consider renting a service from Anthropic, they drop such bomb. Full capability with pre-agreed price per token and no ID verification. That's what I demand.

Rooster61

I really don't like that headlines have been surfacing about the US government putting pressure on Anthropic, and now a short time later they are requiring ID's (albeit for certain use cases, but that's a slippery slope). I may very well stop using Claude due to this. Also, who is providing the verification service? We don't want another Discord situation. EDIT: Just saw it's Persona. Definitely dropping Claude now.

I_am_tiberius

I just hope there's huge protest. I hope people just cancel the subscription. I fear people will just accept the terms. The result will be a kill switch for the US government and a clean distinction between national and foreign users so spying will become legal. Surely Anthropic hasn't allowed the NSA connect so far, - openai clearly did (see their board members).

macic

Very disappointing that they went with Persona, the company whose CEO regularly argues with people on Twitter and lies about their arguments.

consumer451

Previous discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775633 - 67 days ago, 100 comments As mentioned in that thread, Persona as the provider is a bit surprising and problematic. Discord dropped them after user backlash.

rvz

No surprise. Anthropic was going to do this anyway just like OpenAI did. Never been a better time to use local models.

comboy

They all have everyone ID's through payments already..

jacomoRodriguez

Just canceled my subscription. I don't want my id data end up with persona and/or the us gov.

RaSoJo

Is there any info on what these "certain capabilities" are?

shevy-java

YOU have become their product. This so conveniently ties into age-sniffing as well.

Razengan

Fuck.. How did y'all in the Land of the Free let it get this way

truthbe

Cancel and Refund link if anyone is searching https://claude.ai/settings/billing?action=cancel-refund

holoduke

For certain capabilities one can use uncensored models which can be found on huggingface. It's perfect for asking on how to create atomic bombs, meth labs, assassination plans, brute force hack scripts and more. You only need one or two h200 cards.

Overpower0416

Yeah, not happening. Gonna hope for the open models getting better and staying with what I've got for now.

fortran77

Where are these "certain capabilities" documentes?