GARDINER – A marketing retreat meant to offer social media influencers a relaxing weekend in the Hudson Valley instead sparked a wave of online backlash after the identity of its organizer, initially described by one attendee only as “a tech company,” became public.
It was OpenAI, the tech giant behind ChatGPT.
The Sam Altman-led company invited about 30 content creators to an all-expenses-paid trip dubbed “OpenAI Summer Camp” at Wildflower Farms, the luxury resort in Ulster County where cabins with views of the Shawangunks cost about $2,000 a night.
The retreat was designed to introduce creators to ChatGPT Work, a new AI assistant that automates workplace tasks by merging apps like Gmail and Slack, a company spokesperson told Fast Company. Beyond product demonstrations, OpenAI also wined and dined the creators and even offered them a beekeeping workshop at the resort’s apiary.
Influencers shared photos and videos from the retreat on social media, posing in front of the bucolic setting, showing off cozy solo cabins and company merch, while telling their followers everything they had learned at OpenAI’s presentations.
“Officially letting my AI assistant do the work so I can enjoy more of all this goodness,” digital creator and entrepreneur Nat Lucy captioned her post.
But soon, the internet turned against the influencers.
Critics, in a cascade of online backlash, called the trip dystopian. Others described it as a transparent attempt to improve the image of a company and a technology with environmental and privacy concerns by using young, mostly female content creators.
“If you love AI so much, go live near a data center then,” one user commented on Lucy’s post.
“This is so tone-deaf,” another comment read under influencer Grace McCarrick’s video touring her cabin while filling up her bathtub.
Still others accused the creators of compromising their values for an expensive vacation.
“$2000 a night. Seems about right,” another user said. “If we continue down this path, only the ultra-wealthy and their sycophants will be able to have access to the highly curated nature that remains.”
While the content creators bore the brunt of the criticism, Wildflower Farms did not emerge unscathed.
“Shame on Wildflower Farms in upstate New York for allowing an event like this to happen,” one Redditor commented. “This resort has such high standards around their property, environment, and agriculture, which makes me annoyed because of the current battle and fight to prevent data centers from being built up here. They already prevent locals from the privilege of going here because it’s nearly 3k a night and being advertised towards influencers for exposure because none of us who live nearby can afford this luxury. Unfortunately, a lot of high-end spots are being built up here and it’s sad.”
“The audacity of an AI company to do an influencer trip to a wildflower farm when AI infrastructure wants to destroy this landscape is disgusting,” another user said on Reddit.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, arrives at a different gathering of tech elites at the Sun Valley Lodge on July 7 in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The reaction to the upstate retreat reflects growing public animosity toward artificial intelligence, which many see as a threat to their jobs and the planet. OpenAI, one of the companies most closely associated with the technology, has drawn criticism for its contracts with the U.S. military and the controversial buildout of data centers across the country, including in the Hudson Valley, as developers race to build infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence.
Following the backlash, some of the posts from content creators who attended the OpenAI trip appeared to have been deleted as of Friday. Others took to social media to defend themselves.
“My morals were not compromised,” said McCarrick in a video defending her decision to attend. “I am supremely excited about AI and the opportunities it offers to our species. Full stop.”
“The comments on my OpenAI trip post on TikTok specifically were all like this. And I was so baffled because I’m with you, I’m moving in the direction of change, not against it,” said Megan Lieu, another content creator who attended the OpenAI trip, under McCarrick’s post.
OpenAI did not respond to questions from the Times Union, instead sharing a prepared statement it had sent other news outlets.
“Creators are an important part of our community and how people get information and learn about our products today,” the statement said. “We welcome healthy debate as AI becomes more prevalent, and we value creators who choose to engage with us, attend our events, ask tough questions, and learn alongside everyone else. We’ll continue to value them, just as we do traditional media and other marketing partners.”
Wildflower Farms nor any of the influencers the Times Union reached out to for comment responded.
Subscribe
There’s more to Albany with the Times Union. Subscribe today for just 25¢.
This article originally published at OpenAI hosted an upstate retreat for influencers. It did not go over well..