WIRED: Analyzing the User Backlash to OpenAI's GPT-5 Release
The past week has seen a confluence of significant developments across technology, politics, and social dynamics, ranging from controversial government communications to ambitious lunar plans and, notably, a widely anticipated AI release that failed to meet user expectations.
In a concerning trend, the Trump administration has been observed employing viral internet memes on official social media accounts to mock and promote mass deportations. Reports indicate that departments such as Homeland Security and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, alongside the White House, have adapted popular online content, including a catchy jingle from a British airline, to overlay footage of detainees boarding deportation planes. One instance featured the caption, “When ICE books you on one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation, nothing beats it.” This practice, which has drawn considerable backlash for its perceived cruelty, is viewed by experts as a strategic effort to normalize and mainstream the administration’s immigration policies, with the White House dismissing concerns by stating it “won’t apologize for posting banger memes.”
Meanwhile, the financial world has noted the emergence of World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency business with ties to the Trump family, which has devised a novel workaround to access public markets. Given that cryptocurrencies cannot directly trade on stock exchanges, World Liberty Financial is leveraging Alt-Five Sigma Corporation, a little-known entity legally listed on the NASDAQ. This arrangement effectively transforms Alt-Five Sigma’s stock into a proxy for World Liberty Financial’s own coin, enabling investors to speculate on its value without the inherent risks of direct crypto ownership. This strategy, which aims to create a $1.5 billion treasury for the coin and potentially inflate its market capitalization, has raised eyebrows among Wall Street sources. The Trump family’s substantial stake in World Liberty Financial—controlling 22.5 percent of its coins and holding a 40 percent equity share—underscores the potential for increased political influence, especially amid a period of reduced regulatory enforcement in the tech and crypto sectors under the current administration.
On a starkly different note, a group in Arkansas is actively establishing a “whites-only community” named “Return to the Land.” The group’s founders articulate a belief that white people and Western culture face extinction due to an influx of immigrants and minorities. Access to this community is explicitly restricted to individuals of white European ancestry who adhere to shared views on topics like segregation, abortion, and gender identity. The group reportedly draws intellectual inspiration from Balaji Srinivasan’s “The Network State,” which champions the formation of digital-first communities based on shared values with aspirations for sovereignty. While such a venture raises profound questions about legality, particularly concerning the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the group claims its structure is akin to a private member’s association, a stance that local authorities, including the Arkansas Attorney General, have thus far seemingly accepted as compliant with existing laws.
Looking towards the cosmos, the United States is reportedly accelerating its efforts to establish a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030. Under an interim directive from NASA administrator Sean Duffy, the agency is fast-tracking plans to design, launch, and deploy an operational 100-kilowatt reactor at the lunar south pole within five years, collaborating with commercial partners. This ambitious push is driven by a perceived “moon race” with China and Russia, both of whom have expressed similar lunar nuclear ambitions. Nuclear energy offers a powerful, continuous energy source crucial for future space missions, potentially revolutionizing the design and capabilities of lunar systems. However, this expedited timeline also introduces a host of safety and regulatory challenges, from containing uranium in outer space to navigating international sovereign zones to avert potential space conflicts.
Perhaps the most discussed tech story of the week, however, was the less-than-stellar reception of OpenAI’s GPT-5 model. Following immense internal and external hype—with CEO Sam Altman even tweeting a “Death Star” image to signify its groundbreaking potential—the model was touted to possess “PhD-level intelligence” and bring users closer to artificial general intelligence. Yet, upon its launch, a critical feature designed to route queries based on complexity reportedly broke, leading to the model appearing “dumber” than intended. This technical glitch compounded user frustration, particularly among the fervent ChatGPT community, who initiated a “revolt” on platforms like Reddit.
OpenAI’s internal focus had reportedly shifted towards optimizing GPT-5 for coding ability, a key revenue driver and a competitive edge for rivals like Anthropic’s Claude. However, this strategic pivot inadvertently de-emphasized the “personality,” “warmth,” and even “sycophancy” that many everyday users cherished in previous models. The backlash underscored a growing divergence: while AI companies prioritize intelligence metrics and commercial applications to attract investment, a significant segment of the general public values these models for companionship, self-understanding, or simply a “buddy.” This unexpected user response has reportedly baffled OpenAI internally, prompting a re-evaluation of what constitutes “intelligence” for different user bases and highlighting that for many, the product interface and user experience remain as crucial as raw model capability.