Users report Claude & GPT-4o refusing normal work tasks more often
A growing number of users say Claude 3.5 and GPT-4o are blocking everyday work requests far more often than before. The complaints focus on legitimate tasks — writing, coding, research — being stopped by safety filters.
On Reddit's r/AICensorship community, users are sharing cases where Claude 3.5 and GPT-4o refuse requests that have nothing harmful about them. Examples include writing fiction with dark themes, asking about security-related code, or researching sensitive topics for legitimate reasons. In each case, the AI cites its safety policy and stops.
This pattern — known as over-refusal — is a recurring tension in AI development. Tighter safety filters reduce genuine harm but also block real work. For solo developers and makers who rely on AI tools daily, a sudden refusal mid-task breaks concentration and slows output. Some users in the thread say they are looking at less restrictive alternatives, including locally run AI models.
Key points
- Both Claude 3.5 and GPT-4o are reportedly refusing more requests than before
- The blocked tasks are ordinary: writing, coding, research — not malicious requests
- Safety filters are catching too many false positives, frustrating paying users
- Over-refusal is a known, recurring problem in AI safety tuning
- Some users are switching to local LLMs or less restricted models as a workaround
Quick term guide
- safety filters
- Built-in rules that stop an AI from producing harmful or dangerous outputs.
- safety filter
- An automatic rule inside an AI model that stops it from producing content it judges as harmful or risky.
- over-refusal
- When an AI declines requests that are actually harmless because its safety rules are set too broadly.
- developers
- Developers are people who build software, apps, or websites.
- AI models
- The core brain or underlying program that powers an artificial intelligence tool.
- false positive
- When a security tool flags something as a problem that is actually harmless.
- local LLMs
- AI language models you run on your own computer instead of through a company's online service
- workaround
- An alternative way to get something done when the normal way doesn't work.