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   The 'QuitGPT' movement is targeting ChatGPT with a boycott and spotlighting the   
   politics behind the AI giant   
      
   By Eric Hal Schwartz published 5 hours ago   
      
   A grassroots revolt is testing whether consumer pressure can reshape the future   
   of artificial intelligence   
      
       QuitGPT is a movement encouraging ChatGPT subscribers to cancel   
       The organizers point to OpenAI leadership donations and government AI   
   contracts as reasons to do so   
       The campaign has gained traction with thousands pledging online to quit   
      
   ChatGPT's massive popularity is facing a snag from an unexpected direction. The   
   QuitGPT movement was created by a loose coalition of activists and digital   
   organizers when public records revealed OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his   
   wife each donated $12.5 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc.   
      
   The group's list of reasons to avoid spending money on OpenAI products like   
   ChatGPT has since expanded to include criticism of the company making deals   
   with federal agencies to offer AI tools powered by OpenAI models. OpenAI has   
   not publicly responded to the campaign, but QuitGPT has quickly become one of   
   the most visible attempts yet to weaponize subscription economics against a   
   major AI company.   
      
   The numbers are difficult to verify independently, but organizers say more than   
   17,000 people have signed pledges on the campaign's website, declaring they   
   have canceled or will cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions.   
      
   The Brockman donations being made public last month were a tipping point for   
   many organizers. They were joined by others for whom the fact that U.S.   
   Immigration and Customs Enforcement employs a resume screening system powered   
   by an OpenAI model was the last straw. ICE is facing fierce criticism at the   
   moment, and ChatGPT's connection to the agency, however tenuous, could affect   
   its ambitions as a company.   
      
   The idea that ChatGPT subscriptions might indirectly support a company whose   
   tools are embedded in controversial federal operations gave the boycott a moral   
   narrative beyond simple partisan disagreement.   
      
   QuitGPT retreat   
      
   The reasoning is only part of what makes QuitGPT stand out among boycott   
   efforts. The shape of the target itself is unusual. ChatGPT is not a sneaker, a   
   beverage, or other traditional consumer product. ChatGPT is a digital assistant   
   integrated into the personal and professional lives of many people in myriad   
   unique ways.   
      
   To cancel ChatGPT means more than just choosing another, similar drink or   
   footwear; it's a sincere, practical inconvenience. It's a deeper trade-off for   
   those who rely heavily on ChatGPT.   
      
   Political frustration, combined with the standard product critique that every   
   iteration of ChatGPT faces, which has increased since OpenAI dropped the   
   popular GPT-4o model, and introduced sponsored links on the platform, has   
   produced a broader sense of disillusionment and a willingness to push back   
   against the parent company.   
      
   OpenAI launched as a nonprofit that was looking out for humanities interests in   
   the race to create Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). It switch from being   
   a nonprofit company last year to being a for-profit company, which disappointed   
   many.   
      
   In the meantime, competitors such as Google with Gemini and Anthropic with   
   Claude stand ready to absorb users who are willing to migrate. The QuitGPT   
   website encourages exploring alternatives.   
      
   Whether digital tools can remain politically neutral is a question that   
   increasingly looks to have only a negative answer. Technology companies once   
   might have cultivated apolitical reputations and objected to being linked to   
   the politics of their customers. That wouldn't fly anymore, given how many care   
   about the leadership donations, government contracts, and policy positions of   
   the companies they engage with.   
      
   Even if QuitGPT does not dramatically alter ChatGPT subscription numbers, it   
   highlights a shift in how AI companies are perceived. Performance and novelty   
   only contribute some of the value. Other AI CEOs might take away a salient   
   lesson in political and ethical transparency if they still want to be in the AI   
   business next year.   
      
      
   https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/chatgpt/the-quitgpt-movement-   
   is-targeting-chatgpt-with-a-boycott-and-spotlighting-the-politics-behind-the-ai   
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