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Case Closed

Users Petition OpenAI Against Retiring GPT-4o Personality

Is this a scandal?

No longer — the story has resolved. Noise 1/100, cooling down, across 0 sources.

SCAND-26as of Methodology
Cite this incident"Users Petition OpenAI Against Retiring GPT-4o Personality." SCAND.Ai incident SCAND-26, noise 1/100 as of July 31, 2026. https://scand.ai/scandal/gpt4o-retirement-petition
FORECASTForecast, not fact

OpenAI may offer legacy model access as a premium feature. The backlash will influence how all AI labs handle model deprecation going forward.

1

Noise 1/100 — louder than 87% of tracked AI controversies.

AI-assisted analysis · How we work

Key points

  1. Thousands signed petition opposing GPT-4o retirement in favor of newer models
  2. Users reported GPT-4o produced more creative and nuanced outputs than successors
  3. OpenAI acknowledged user preference but cited infrastructure cost concerns
  4. Debate highlighted tension between model improvement metrics and user satisfaction
  5. Some users created workarounds to continue accessing legacy model behavior

The story

When OpenAI updated GPT-4o's behavior in mid-2025, users noticed a personality change that felt less creative and more corporate. A petition with thousands of signatures demanded the old personality be preserved.

Who's involved

Defender
Sam Altman

CEO, OpenAI

Acknowledged feedback and promised to balance safety with personality

Defender
OpenAI

Released statement about ongoing model improvements and user feedback integration

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Noise Level

Quiet1?Noise Score (0–100): how loud a controversy is. Composite of reach, engagement, star power, cross-platform spread, polarity, duration, and industry impact — with 7-day decay.
Decay: 5%
Reach
0
Engagement
0
Star Power
30
Duration
0
Cross-Platform
0
Polarity
55
Industry Impact
40

The timeline

  1. Petition reaches 10,000+ signatures

    Users organize petition demanding preservation of the model's original personality

  2. Users notice GPT-4o personality change

    Community reports the model feels less creative and more formulaic after update

The forecast

OpenAI may offer legacy model access as a premium feature. The backlash will influence how all AI labs handle model deprecation going forward.

Forecast, not fact — an editorial estimate we score when this resolves.

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