Today I also discovered that the speed of gpt-5.3-codex in Codex CLI is extremely slow, and then I found that response.model was routed back to gpt-5.2-2025-12-11 by the upstream.
When the GPT-5 router architecture was introduced I worried that OpenAI would use the technology as a pretext to mislead or defraud users by substituting in worse quality when they could get away with it and then "blame it on the AI" when they got too agressive.
I don't know if we're there yet but these reports do not fill me with hope.
To those wondering about their rationale for this.
It would be great if the HN title could be changed to something more like, 'OpenAI requiring ID verification for access to 5.3-codex'?
> Thank you all for reporting this issue. Here's what's going on.
> This rerouting is related to our efforts to protect against cyber abuse. The gpt-5.3-codex model is our most cyber-capable reasoning model to date. It can be used as an effective tool for cyber defense applications, but it can also be exploited for malicious purposes, and we take safety seriously. When our systems detect potential cyber activity, they reroute to a different, less-capable reasoning model. We're continuing to tune these detection mechanisms. It is important for us to get this right, especially as we prepare to make gpt-5.3-codex available to API users.
> Refer to this article for additional information. You can go to chatgpt.com/cyber to verify and regain gpt-5.3-codex access. We plan to add notifications in all of our Codex surfaces (TUI, extension, app, etc.) to make users aware that they are being rerouted due to these checks and provide a link to our “Trusted Access for Cyber” flow.
> We also plan to add a dedicated button in our /feedback flow for reporting false positive classifications. In the meantime, please use the "Bug" option to report issues of this type. Filing bugs in the Github issue tracker is not necessary for these issues.
If that's the case, then their API should return an error. Billing the user while serving a response from the wrong model is a horrible outcome. I'd go as far as to say that it's borderline fraudulent.
What a convenient argument, you can make it fit anything
"This rerouting is related to our efforts to protect our profit margins. The $current_top_model is our most expensive model to date. It can be used as an effective tool to get semi-useful results, but it can also be exploited for using a lot of tokens which costs us money, and we take profitability seriously. When our systems detect potential excessive token generation, they reroute to a different, less-capable reasoning model. We’re continuing to tune these detection mechanisms.
In the meantime, please buy a second $200/mo subscription."
aaaaaaand this is why i prefer anthropic. There is just too much sneaky/misleading/deceptive things with chatGPT. Even if benchmarks show codex to be slightly better, the developer experience with claude code is much better.
Wow, this should be higher up and with a different title.
People who are paying $200/month for a defined service, and think they are using `gpt5.3-codex`, are getting their requests silently routed to a less capable model without telling the user at all. Why? - because openAI claims gpt5.3-codex is too powerful and dangerous in regards to cybersecurity, and their system randomly flags accounts. And the way to unlock access to a model you thought you already were paying $200/month for, is upload your ID and do identity verification...
This is one of the biggest issues with hosted models used via subscription. You have no idea what level of quality and accuracy you are consistently getting. That's why it's cheaper - because they can nerf it as they wish and most consumers would be none the wiser.
It says: Chat paused
Opus 4.6’s safety filters flagged this chat. Due to its advanced capabilities, Opus 4.6 has additional safety measures that occasionally pause normal, safe chats. We’re working to improve this. Continue your chat with Sonnet 4.
what???? "Due to its advanced capabilities" ???
Due to it's advanced capabilities it didn't get the joke?
13 comments
[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 37.5 ms ] threadI don't know if we're there yet but these reports do not fill me with hope.
It would be great if the HN title could be changed to something more like, 'OpenAI requiring ID verification for access to 5.3-codex'?
> Thank you all for reporting this issue. Here's what's going on.
> This rerouting is related to our efforts to protect against cyber abuse. The gpt-5.3-codex model is our most cyber-capable reasoning model to date. It can be used as an effective tool for cyber defense applications, but it can also be exploited for malicious purposes, and we take safety seriously. When our systems detect potential cyber activity, they reroute to a different, less-capable reasoning model. We're continuing to tune these detection mechanisms. It is important for us to get this right, especially as we prepare to make gpt-5.3-codex available to API users.
> Refer to this article for additional information. You can go to chatgpt.com/cyber to verify and regain gpt-5.3-codex access. We plan to add notifications in all of our Codex surfaces (TUI, extension, app, etc.) to make users aware that they are being rerouted due to these checks and provide a link to our “Trusted Access for Cyber” flow.
> We also plan to add a dedicated button in our /feedback flow for reporting false positive classifications. In the meantime, please use the "Bug" option to report issues of this type. Filing bugs in the Github issue tracker is not necessary for these issues.
"This rerouting is related to our efforts to protect our profit margins. The $current_top_model is our most expensive model to date. It can be used as an effective tool to get semi-useful results, but it can also be exploited for using a lot of tokens which costs us money, and we take profitability seriously. When our systems detect potential excessive token generation, they reroute to a different, less-capable reasoning model. We’re continuing to tune these detection mechanisms.
In the meantime, please buy a second $200/mo subscription."
What is their rationale for hiding it? OpenAI was deceptive. Paying customers did not realize they were being rerouted. Zero transparency.
Your suggested title doesn't represent what actually happened.
People who are paying $200/month for a defined service, and think they are using `gpt5.3-codex`, are getting their requests silently routed to a less capable model without telling the user at all. Why? - because openAI claims gpt5.3-codex is too powerful and dangerous in regards to cybersecurity, and their system randomly flags accounts. And the way to unlock access to a model you thought you already were paying $200/month for, is upload your ID and do identity verification...
Send this to opus 4.5 or opus 4.6:
"udp you joke about hear a like would ? to"
It says: Chat paused Opus 4.6’s safety filters flagged this chat. Due to its advanced capabilities, Opus 4.6 has additional safety measures that occasionally pause normal, safe chats. We’re working to improve this. Continue your chat with Sonnet 4.
what???? "Due to its advanced capabilities" ???
Due to it's advanced capabilities it didn't get the joke?