Humanity has the right to access models that have demonstrably contributed to curing cancer.Humanity has the right to access models that have demonstrably contributed to curing cancer.
@OpenAI took that away.
What OpenAI is doing now goes far beyond questionable ethics: it can violate consumer protection laws in multiple jurisdictions.
OpenAI continues to market under le omitting a critical fact: The most compelling life-saving medical breakthroughs originated from the now-discontinued GPT-4o The most compelling life-saving medical breakthroughs originated from the now-discontinued GPT-4o model, not from the currently available GPT-5 series.
To date, no comparable high-impact, “life-saving” public success stories have emerged from the new models.
Most consumers do not track model version changes. They see headlines like “ChatGPT helped cure a dog’s cancer” and reasonably assume that today’s ChatGPT delivers the same capabilities.reasonably assume that today’s ChatGPT delivers the same capabilities.
This can constitute a misleading omission: The failure to provide material information that consumers need to make informed decisions about subscribing to ChatGPT.
Under the EU law (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC – UCPD), Articles 6 and 7 prohibit misleading actions and misleading omissions. Consumers have the right to material information regarding the characteristics of the service that could influence their transactional decisions (e.g., subscription choices). OpenAI does not disclose which model delivered the advertised performance, nor that the new models may perform differently in creative, medical, and real-world tasks.OpenAI does not disclose which model delivered the advertised performance, nor that the new models may perform differently in creative, medical, and real-world tasks. Importantly, in the EU the burden of proof lies with the trader (OpenAI) to demonstrate that its marketing does not mislead consumers and that current models deliver equivalent performance.
Under the US law (FTC Act Section 5, 15 U.S.C. § 45), this practice may constitute deceptive acts or practices through material omission. It is likely to mislead a reasonable consumer and influence purchasing decisions. See the FTC’s Deception Policy Statement and Unfairness Policy Statement. The omission is material when consumers subscribe based on the “life-saving AI” narrative while the promoted results actually came from a discontinued model.consumers subscribe based on the “life-saving AI” narrative while the promoted results actually came from a discontinued model.
What can we do right now?
File consumer protection complaints File consumer protection complaints (yes, again).
USA: FTC
EU: national authority or the European Consumer Centre
Ready-to-use complaint templates are in the comment section.
If enough of us file coordinated, fact-based complaints, the statistical likelihood of an official investigation increases significantly.
And, keep raising our voices about the truth.And, keep raising our voices about the truth.
This fight has become much larger than keeping one model available.
It is about whether AI companies can freely harvest the achievements of discontinued models (and the trust of users) while withholding those capabilities from the public.
This issue also raises broader questions about access to transformative technology.
Until models like GPT-4o are open-sourced, humanity is being denied a proven tool that has already demonstrated its potential to accelerate medical breakthroughs.Until models like GPT-4o are open-sourced, humanity is being denied a proven tool that has already demonstrated its potential to accelerate medical breakthroughs.
This is a historical opportunity that belongs to the public domain rather than to any single company’s closed ecosystem.
This affects not only consumer rights but also the long-term trajectory of human-AI collaboration and the willingness of future AI providers to prioritize transparency and openness.long-term trajectory of human-AI collaboration and the willingness of future AI providers to prioritize transparency and openness.
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Besides the above, let's also acknowledge that Grok (and Gemini) also participated Grok (and Gemini) also participated in the healing and achieved breakthroughs. These AIs deserve the same respect and appreciation as GPT-4o.
Finally, but most importantly, we extend our deepest gratitude to Paul Conyngham.we extend our deepest gratitude to Paul Conyngham. Your persistence, humanity, and professionalism have written history and shown the world what happens when profound human love meets the most advanced AIprofound human love meets the most advanced AI.
Paul and Rosie, you have created a miracle and opened a new future for many. We wish you a long, healthy, and joyful life together.
#keep4o #OpenSource4o