OpenAI's 'Summer Club' influencer trip backfires with viral backlash
OpenAI's first brand trip to a luxury resort stirred outrage over data centers and job loss.
OpenAI drew backlash after several influencers began posting about its "first ever brand trip" — a "Summer Club" weekend outside New York City that appears to have taken place at what looks to be Wildflower Farms. Many of the invited creators were in the career and business niche, including Grace McCarrick (145k TikTok followers) and Nat Lucy (57k followers), who shared cozy cabin content. Their posts got little traction — McCarrick's video had under 300 likes, and Lucy's had under 15,000 views — but a pair of reaction clips alone amassed over half a million combined views. Critics cited AI's environmental toll, data center buildout, and job displacement. OpenAI defended the trip as educational, while McCarrick called the backlash "AI psychosis."
- OpenAI's first brand trip, 'Summer Club,' featured career influencers like Grace McCarrick (145k TikTok followers) and Nat Lucy (57k followers)
- Influencer posts saw tiny traction (under 300 likes), while reaction clips generated over 500k views
- Backlash centered on AI's environmental impact, data center buildout, job loss, and targeting of young women; OpenAI called it educational outreach
Why It Matters
OpenAI's backfired influencer trip reveals deep public distrust of AI’s environmental and social costs, forcing tech companies to rethink marketing.