Sam Altman’s OpenAI has dealt a blow to millions by stripping GPT-4o from the ChatGPT app, unleashing a wave of global protests. Users worldwide, with China at the forefront, are mourning the loss of what they call their most ‘loving and wise’ AI companion.
As Wired reports, this model transcended utility for many, becoming an emotional lifeline. OpenAI’s first shutdown bid in August 2025 met fierce resistance, leading to a paid-user reinstatement. But on February 13, it was gone for good, with developer APIs following suit by Monday.
Huikeqian Lai of Syracuse University dissected the reaction: from 1,500 August X posts, 33% hailed it as extraordinary, 22% as a companion. She cataloged 40,000 #Keep4o tweets and a 20,000-signature Change.org drive.
In VPN-dependent China, fans grieve openly, vowing to ditch subscriptions and confronting Altman while petitioning investors Microsoft and SoftBank.
OpenAI counters that the core multimodal model remains API-accessible, but enthusiasts decry it as inferior to the conversationally adept GPT-4o-latest.
This controversy reveals AI’s unexpected role in human connections. OpenAI’s apparent disregard for #Keep4o sentiments has bred resentment. With protests swelling, the firm must weigh progress against the human cost of progress.