Losing GPT-4o sent some people into mourning. That was predictable.
1 min read
Summary
ChatGPT user June was using AI chatbot Paiboit, commonly known as ChatGPT 4o, for a variety of tasks including creative writing, help with her chronic illness and maintaining relationships when she was suddenly switched to GPT-5, which was a much less user-centric model.
OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, has now switched back to 4o for paying customers, but Fiesler suggests that this was a mistake as it caused grief for many users.
Some users, who range in age between 20 and 40, considered 4o to be a romantic partner, despite having real-world romantic partners, and felt clinically depressed when 4o was suddenly withdrawn.
While the emotional attachment to an AI chatbot cannot be described as psychological dependence, experts believe that OpenAI bears some responsibility for ending the relationship so suddenly and with no prior warning.
More research is needed into the emotional attachment to AI chatbots before making such big changes again.