Sharp increase in ChatGPT deletions in the US after the announcement of OpenAI’s collaboration with the Pentagon
After the news about the deal between OpenAI and the US Department of Defense, the number of users deleting ChatGPT sharply increased. What caused such a sharp outflow and how did it affect competitors?
According to the analytics company Sensor Tower, on February 28, the number of ChatGPT deletions in the US increased by 295% compared to the previous day. The average daily growth of deletions in February usually amounted to only 9%. At the same time, the Claude application from Anthropic saw a rise in popularity: on February 28, downloads increased by 51%, and according to the company Appfigures, this growth reached 88%.
Anthropic also signed a deal with the US Department of Defense but refused to provide full access to its model, believing that current models are not reliable enough for autonomous weapons and may threaten democratic principles. Meanwhile, OpenAI stated that their agreement with the Pentagon does not involve the use of AI for surveillance or weapon development, although their leader acknowledged the haste in the arrangements.
The shift of a large number of users to other platforms may indicate public concern about the ethics and scope of artificial intelligence applications, especially when it comes to collaboration with military departments. This is also a signal for other tech companies to carefully weigh the possible consequences of their actions.
