OpenAI hosted an all-expenses-paid gathering of content creators at an idyllic New York state resort last weekend — but the luxury getaway came at a cost for some attendees, who are now facing fierce fallout from followers for taking a promotional trip on the tech company’s dime.
Some commenters took issue with influencers showing off the glamorous natural setting, reportedly in the Hudson Valley, despite concerns that OpenAI and other tech companies are having a significant impact on the environment and climate change. Others railed against the company’s work with the U.S. government, including the Department of War.
Influencer Grace McCarrick didn’t think for a moment that taking part in what’s known as a brand trip, to learn more about OpenAI’s ChatGPT Work tools, would be controversial.
Addressing the backlash in a LinkedIn post, she said the response to her “awesome” time at the so-called summer camp had introduced her to “the shocking AI psychosis running rampant online,” adding that she “genuinely had no idea that people were this anti-AI.”
Experts say the uproar might not be solely about the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, but may also be a sign that content creators have come to a sort of crossroads when it comes to AI, tech giants and the unwritten bond of trust between them and their followers.
“Some of the criticism was obviously about people feeling it was in bad taste to be promoting a company like OpenAI,” said Victoria Ibitoye, founder of the U.K.-based business website The Daily Influence.
“But I also think the reaction reflects the fact that the creator economy is still trying to figure out where it stands on AI more broadly.”
Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping how humans use the internet. For The National, CBC’s Nora Young breaks down the future of search and what happens to information when bots do most of the reading online.
‘Is that the cost of your soul?’
Ibitoye says it’s clear OpenAI wanted to give content creators an opportunity to experience ChatGPT Work — billed as an AI agent that can automate workplace tasks by gathering information from applications and workflows — and then share its products with “audiences that already trust them.”
But that clearly backfired for some who took part in the gathering.
Influencer Megan Lieu showcased her “2 days off the grid with OpenAI” on her LinkedIn and Instagram accounts, touting her experience as time well spent learning about ChatGPT’s newest features, “all while taking in breathtaking views.”
One commenter on Instagram called Lieu “a tool to be exploited by greedy white men,” while another asked, “Is that the cost of your soul? One f—ing influencer trip.”
McCarrick said on LinkedIn that “it was incredibly exciting to get to be in the room with the people shaping how this technology gets used,” and appeared to…
Read More: Backlash to OpenAI luxury retreat highlights influencers’ uncertain
