Account verification and distillation concerns

What verification changes

The announced removal starts with most existing Ultra subscribers. Newer accounts retain a temporary limit until verification, with an email when the restriction is removed. The stated purpose is fraud and abuse prevention. 9:34
Verification happens automatically. Verifying a phone number at checkout is separate and does not remove the limit. 10:06
The stated account check is Settings → Usage: absence of a current-session bar indicates verification. Theo criticizes the lack of published criteria or detail about the process. 10:06

Distillation, as discussed here, uses large numbers of Claude requests and responses to train another model. Theo argues that subscriptions provide a cheaper source of those outputs than API access, using his $200 versus $12,000 usage comparison. 10:33
He attributes demand for rapid subscription consumption to Chinese labs and other companies seeking distillation data. He argues that removing five-hour limits makes this easier and motivates stricter verification. These are his explanations, not evidence of how Anthropic's verification algorithm works. 10:59
His criticism is that vague verification rules also restrict legitimate users who want the advertised Ultra benefit. 9:34 10:59