“A new study from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) evaluates the performance of software that estimates a person’s age based on the physical characteristics evident in a photo of their face. Such age estimation and verification (AEV) software might be used as a gatekeeper for activities that have an age restriction, such as purchasing alcohol or accessing mature content online. Age estimation has become an enabling technology in age assurance programs recently included in legislation and regulation both inside and outside the United States. These programs aim to permit only those in certain age groups to access social media chat rooms or to buy certain products both online and in the physical world and can be an important part of efforts to protect children online. The new NIST study, Face Analysis Technology Evaluation: Age Estimation and Verification (NIST IR 8525), evaluates the performance of six algorithms that developers provided voluntarily in response to a September 2023 call for submissions. According to Kayee Hanaoka, one of the study’s authors, the results show algorithms with varying capabilities. “There is a wide range in performance among these algorithms, with room for improvement across the board,” said Hanaoka, a NIST computer scientist. “This is a partial snapshot of the age estimation field as it stood in late 2023, but as AEV performance is closely tied to advancements in artificial intelligence, we expect the field to change rapidly.”