United States of America: Published NIST report on age estimation software for age verification requirements

On 30 May 2024, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded its first evaluation of software algorithms designed for estimating a person's age from photographs. This inquiry aimed to assess the performance of six voluntarily submitted algorithms in the context of age verification requirements for machine learning and artificial intelligence development sectors. The evaluation sought to determine the algorithms' accuracy in age estimation, a key component in age assurance programs for restricting access to age-sensitive activities and content. Despite the varied performance of the algorithms, with none emerging as a clear leader, the study highlighted improvements in age estimation accuracy compared to a decade ago, alongside a commitment to ongoing evaluation and methodological updates to reflect rapid advancements in the field.