OpenAI's luxury influencer retreat sparks backlash over AI's environmental and ethical costs
A farm-to-table weekend in upstate New York was meant to win over content creators. Instead, it handed critics a very photogenic target.
Key points
- OpenAI hosted its first influencer brand trip, called "Summer Club," at a luxury retreat in upstate New York in July 2025.
- Creators attended farm-to-table dinners, beekeeping sessions and a painting workshop, plus tutorials on OpenAI products.
- Viewer backlash focused on AI's environmental costs, OpenAI's reported $500 billion data-centre deal in Ohio, and a separate $200 million contract with the US Department of Defense.
- At least one influencer deleted her video after negative comments; another wrote on LinkedIn that she had not expected the controversy.
- Anthropic and Microsoft Copilot have run similar influencer events with far less public reaction.
OpenAI sent a group of social-media influencers, people who build audiences on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, to a luxury resort in upstate New York for a weekend it called "Summer Club." The programme included farm-to-table meals, beekeeping, a painting workshop and tutorials on OpenAI's products, including ChatGPT. Creators posted short videos and photos that looked polished and pleasant. Comment sections did not.
Why did people react so badly?
Viewers zeroed in on the timing and the optics. OpenAI is reportedly close to a $500 billion agreement to build a large data centre in Ohio, and AI data centres have drawn growing public concern about their environmental footprint. Spending a weekend celebrating AI products at a nature retreat struck many commenters as tone-deaf.
Others pointed to OpenAI's $200 million contract with the US Department of Defense, which fuelled a separate strand of criticism in the replies. One person who left a negative comment told TechCrunch that "posh influencer events" give people "ammunition to have negative opinions" and that bragging about a luxury stay while "the world is on fire" sends the wrong message.
At least one influencer deleted her video from the trip, though she kept other posts that did not explicitly mention the OpenAI event. A second creator wrote on LinkedIn that she expected viewers to be curious about "behind-the-scenes tips and tricks" and said she "didn't for one second consider it would be controversial."
Is this unusual for AI companies?
No. Anthropic reportedly held an influencer dinner for its Claude chatbot, and Microsoft ran a Copilot brand trip to the Super Bowl in February 2025, first reported by the newsletter Sarah and Kate. Neither generated anything close to the same volume of criticism.
Summer Club also fits a deliberate strategy. In February 2025, OpenAI hired Charles Porch, previously Instagram's VP of global partnerships, as its first VP of global creative partnerships. Porch described his role at the time as talking to creative communities to learn how OpenAI could "build the best products to serve them."
Our coverage of AI and creator relationships on 1 August found the tension running in both directions: creators drawn to AI tools and then embarrassed by how far those tools had shaped their own voice.
Should you worry?
If you follow any of the creators involved, you may have already seen, or noticed the absence of, content from this trip. When an influencer attends a brand event, that content is sponsored promotion. US Federal Trade Commission rules require creators to disclose the arrangement, so check for a disclosure label before taking the content at face value. The same scepticism you apply to a paid hotel review applies here.
The real stakes this week are about public trust. Concerns over AI energy use and military contracts are real and documented. An aesthetic weekend retreat didn't create those concerns, but it made them very easy to photograph and post.
OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
Common questions
Were the influencers paid to attend?
The source reporting does not confirm whether creators received payment beyond the trip itself. Sponsored travel counts as compensation under US Federal Trade Commission disclosure rules, meaning creators are required to disclose the arrangement to their audiences.
What is an AI data centre, and why do people worry about it?
A data centre is a large building packed with powerful computers that run AI systems around the clock. Running and cooling those computers uses large amounts of electricity and water, raising concerns about carbon emissions and local resource use, particularly when new facilities are planned at the scale OpenAI is reportedly pursuing in Ohio.
