\n<\/p>\n
OpenAI\u2019s first-ever influencer brand trip is sparking online backlash as tensions over the use of AI continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, OpenAI took what appears to be a handful of influencers to a luxury retreat in upstate New York for what was called \u201cSummer Club.\u201d There, the creators were treated to farm-to-table dinners, wellness activities like beekeeping, and classes on how to better use OpenAI products. One creator posted about making a website, while another took a photo of a brochure that said \u201cpainting workshop\u201d on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The videos were aesthetic and lighthearted, but many of the comments were not. One influencer, for example, who posted about going on the trip on her\u00a0TikTok and Instagram<\/a> had comments from people insinuating she sold her soul \u201cfor a nice hotel room,\u201d or asking if she could do a <\/a>video reconciling her trip with AI data centers\u2019 environment impact. <\/p>\n Another influencer who posted about the trip was asked<\/a> if she was going to do a get-ready-with-me (the popular video format where influencers record their process of getting ready) about touring a data center. When TechCrunch reached out to a third influencer about her time on the trip, she appeared to have deleted the video she made about her time there, although she retained others that don\u2019t explicitly reference that they were part of the OpenAI brand trip.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s not surprising that OpenAI is enlisting influencers by offering luxury brand trips. In February, Vanity Fair reported that the company hired<\/a> \u201ccelebrity whisperer\u201d Charles Porch as its first VP of global creative partnerships. Porch was coming from Instagram, where he was VP of global partnerships. In announcing the hire, Porch said that his job was going to be talking to creative communities \u201cto figure out how we build the best products to serve them,\u201d and he planned to do a \u201clistening tour\u201d to learn more about the relationship people have with AI tools.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note that OpenAI is not the only AI lab that has worked with influencers. Anthropic reportedly hosted an influencer brand dinner for Claude, and back in February, Microsoft Copilot hosted an influencer brand trip to the Super Bowl, the tech newsletter Sarah and Kate reported.<\/a> <\/p>\n None of those other AI trips seem to have struck as big of a nerve as this OpenAI brand trip. One influencer took to LinkedIn to write<\/a> that she thought people \u201cwould be interested in the behind-the-scenes tips and tricks\u201d of using OpenAI technology, but didn\u2019t realize how many people were anti-AI.\u00a0\u201cI didn\u2019t for one second consider it would be controversial,\u201d she wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n TechCrunch spoke to a person who left a negative comment on a video posted by an influencer attending the OpenAI Summer Camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n The commenter pointed out that many Americans have a negative view of AI and that there needs to be a conversation about how to use the technology more responsibly. \u201cThese posh influencers events are, again, giving people ammunition to have negative opinions,\u201d she told TechCrunch. \u201cThe world is on fire. It\u2019s not a great time ot brag about your $5,000-a-night suite.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n There is also more to the timing of the trip that struck people. OpenAI is set to strike a $500 billion<\/a> deal to build a data center in Ohio, during a time when the socio-ecological impact of AI data centers has taken center stage. The irony was not lost on some commenters that OpenAI held a brand retreat in a luxury resort nestled in nature. <\/p>\n Other commenters also noted OpenAI\u2019s $200 million contract with the Department of Defense<\/a> as a reason the brand trip evoked ire.<\/p>\n TechCrunch has reached out to influencers for comment. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n