Google Search users locked out
According to multiple posts on Reddit , users are reporting that they are getting locked out of Google Search because of their age. Now, it’s not because these users were underaged. But rather it is because Google’s age verification system is thinking that these users are under the age of 18.
This doesn’t mean that these users can’t use Google Search at all. However, it does limit what they can do or see. What’s weird is that it shouldn’t even need AI to figure out if some accounts are for users who are under 18. Many users are reporting that they’ve had their accounts since at least 2005. This means that it would be impossible for that user to be under 18.
What’s even more annoying is that this isn’t the first time it has happened. When YouTube introduced a similar AI-based age verification check, users were also reporting that their accounts were changed because the system thought they were underaged. The good news is that all of this can be easily “fixed.” Users can submit a recognized form of identification to clear things up. Alternatively, they can attach a credit card to their account. However, we get that some might be uncomfortable with this. Google already knows so much about us. The last thing most of us want is to hand over even more information, especially if it comes in the form of government-issued IDs.
AI still has a long way to go
As magical as generative AI is to create images on the fly with a simple prompt , it’s situations like this that remind us AI still has a long way to go. Google’s system was supposed to be able to detect users based on their activity, not a date of birth. However, for some users, this system has failed.
We get what Google is trying to do. The company wants to figure out a way to prevent underaged users from accessing certain types of content by giving a fake age. However, these issues clearly show the system is far from perfect.
