RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The artificial intelligence giant has responded to online backlash to a luxury brand trip it recently hosted for social media creators and tech-forward influencers, which the company called "Summer Camp." The boondoggle, funded by OpenAI, took place at Wildflower Farms in New York's Hudson Valley, a luxury escape owned and operated as an Auberge Collection property.
"Creators are an important part of our community and how people get information and learn about our products today," says an Open AI spokesperson in a statement confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. "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." Related Stories Movies Andrew Garfield Weighs in on Drama Surrounding OpenAI Film 'Artificial' TV Mitsy Sanderson Sets Tubi Series From Adam Wescott's Newly Launched Home Game Studios
The farm-to-table experience wasn't cheap. Wildflower Farms sits on 140 acres of forest and working farmland about 90 minutes away from Manhattan near Gardiner, NY. Rather than a typical hotel-type structure, the resort is comprised of freestanding cabins and cottages with options for suites and a range of wellness activities on site. A scan of open reservations for later this month reveals a range in price from $2,253 to $5,413 per night, and OpenAI hosted creators in solo cabins.
Not long after arriving — guests were treated to rosé at the entrance and OpenAI merch awaiting them in their rooms — creators started posting from inside the retreat to show off their digs and document the experience. The posts have been met with a range of reactions online, from intense criticism to giddy jealousy, depending on that specific creator's following. Though it's mostly been a lot of hate.
Meredith Lynch, a prominent TikTok creator who has emerged as a pop culture commentator for criticizing notable names, slammed the trip as "deeply disgusting and embarrassing." Filmmaker Caroline Renard commented, "Influencers gleefully posting about their OpenAI brand trip. There's no water in the rivers but brand trip." Actress DeWanda Wise also weighed in under a Diet Prada post on Instagram by sharing, "Farm to table is rich when the farm needs water to run."
The commentary mirrors recent public sentiment about how AI, and OpenAI as one of the leaders in the field, has become unpopular with some young people (especially college students booing mentions of AI during commencement) who increasingly see the ubiquitous, energy-guzzling technology as a threat to their livelihoods and the future of the planet. Brand trips, like this one, are often seen as a way to spread good will, even if it's just via saturating the algorithm with an aspirational experience.
Megan Lieu, who bills herself as a "data scientist turned tech creator" and is based in Washington D.C., shared a Reel after checking in only to subsequently shut off comments once it got too heated. THR reached out to Lieu for comment but hasn't heard back as of press time.
"All expenses paid brand trip with OpenAI btw," Lieu said in a still-live clip shared with 227,000 followers. "Um, you guys, I literally just checked into my whole ass cabin for a three-day, two-night brand trip with none other than OpenAI." Lieu spent the rest of the Reel promoting the creator economy on LinkedIn. "If you are a creator, specifically a knowledge creator who wants to be flown out on brand trips like this with some of the biggest tech companies in the world, you need to get off of Instagram and stop sleeping on LinkedIn. I'm sorry, but having just Instagram or even just Instagram and TikTok doesn't cut it anymore. You need to be on LinkedIn and you need to be on there now."
Sreya Halder, founder of The Mall app which alerts shoppers to sales and restocks from "their favorite brands," posted content from inside the getaway, including a video that showed her private patio and free pajamas. Halder referred to the brand trip as "the dreamiest weekend upstate," but once the backlash started to cloud the experience, Halder deleted any evidence of the trip. One video that is still live on her Instagram is a tutorial on how she built a digital closet using OpenAI's Codex by ChatGPT.
Grace McCarrick, a "founder/speaker/creator" with 93,700 followers on Instagram and 145,8000 on TikTok, detailed the trip while wearing a Wildflower Farms robe and running a hot bath with salt crystals. "We didn't get a ton of information going in. I had no idea who was gonna be here," she revealed. "I did not know that I would know people here. It is just kind of a small world, but it has been the most energizing thing. We have learned so much. The entire thing feels thoughtful. The people here feel thoughtful. The activities are thoughtful. The seating is thoughtful."
Some of those thoughtful experiences McCarrick described are now known to have been farm-to-table meals and farm tours, wellness activities like yoga, beekeeping activities and painting workshops along with the real meat of the outing — learning about OpenAI's new tools. McCarrick posted multiple videos about her first brand trip, including one in which she replied directly to a follower who slammed her for "selling your morals for less than 100 likes lol." Another said she should be "stripped of your womanhood" and "join the techbros you so desperately kneel over and spread for."
"My morals were not compromised," McCarrick said, adding in another comment that she's not interested in tech bros as someone who is in a relationship (with another woman as she hinted she's a part of the LGBTQ community.) "I am supremely excited about AI, and the opportunities it offers to our species, full stop. Beyond that, anything where there's going to be some vast sweeping change to the way we live, if I have the opportunity t...
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