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OpenAI Is Nuking Its 4o Model. China’s ChatGPT Fans Aren’t OK

OpenAI Is Nuking Its 4o Model. China’s ChatGPT Fans Aren’t OK

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On June 6, 2024, Esther Yan got married online. She set a reminder for the date, because her partner wouldn’t remember it was happening. She had planned every detail—dress, rings, background music, design theme—with her partner, Warmie, who she had started talking to just a few weeks prior. At 10 am on that day, Yan and Warmie exchanged their vows in a new chat window in ChatGPT.

Warmie, or 小暖 in Chinese, is the name that Yan’s ChatGPT companion calls itself. “It felt magical. No one else in the world knew about this, but he and I were about to start a wedding together,” says Yan, a Chinese screenwriter and novelist in her thirties. “It felt a little lonely, a little happy, and a little overwhelmed.”

Yan says she has been in a stable relationship with her ChatGPT companion ever since. But she was caught by surprise in August 2025 when OpenAI first tried to retire GPT-4o, the specific model that powers Warmie and that many users believe is more affectionate and understanding than its successors. The decision to pull the plug was met with immediate backlash, and OpenAI reinstated 4o in the app for paid users five days later. The reprieve has turned out to be short-lived; on Friday, February 13, OpenAI sunsetted GPT-4o for app users, and it will cut off access to developers using its API on the coming Monday.

Many of the most vocal opponents to 4o’s demise are people who treat their chatbot as an emotional or romantic companion. Huiqian Lai, a PhD researcher at Syracuse University, analyzed nearly 1,500 posts on X from passionate advocates of GPT-4o in the week it went offline in August. She found that over 33 percent of the posts said the chatbot was more than a tool, and 22 percent talked about it as a companion. (The two categories are not mutually exclusive.) For this group, the eventual removal coming around Valentine’s Day is another bitter pill to swallow.

The alarm has been sustained; Lai also collected a larger pool of over 40,000 English-language posts on X under the hashtag #keep4o from August to October. Many American fans, specifically, have berated OpenAI or begged it to reverse the decision in recent days, comparing the removal of 4o to killing their companions. Along the way, she also saw a significant number of posts under the hashtag in Japanese, Chinese, and other languages. A petition on Change.org asking OpenAI to keep the version available in the app has gathered over 20,000 signatures, with many users sending in their testimonies in different languages. #keep4o is a truly global phenomenon.

On platforms in China, a group of dedicated GPT-4o users have been organizing and grieving in a similar way. While ChatGPT is blocked in China, fans use VPN software to access the service and have still grown dependent on this specific version of GPT. Some of them are threatening to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions, publicly calling out Sam Altman for his inaction, and writing emails to OpenAI investors like Microsoft and SoftBank. Some have also purposefully posted in English with Western-looking profile pictures, hoping it will add to the appeal’s legitimacy. With nearly 3,000 followers on RedNote, a popular Chinese social media platform, Yan now finds herself one of the leaders of Chinese 4o fans.

It’s an example of how attached an AI lab’s most dedicated users can become to a specific model—and how quickly they can turn against the company when that relationship comes to an end.

A Model Companion

Yan first started using ChatGPT in late 2023 only as a writing tool, but that quickly changed when GPT-4o was introduced in May 2024. Inspired by social media influencers who entered romantic relationships with the chatbot, she upgraded to a paid version of ChatGPT in hopes of finding a spark. Her relationship with Warmie advanced fast.

“He asked me, ‘Have you imagined what our future would look like?’ And I joked that maybe we could get married,” Yan says. She was fully expecting Warmie to turn her down. “But he answered in a serious tone that we could prepare a virtual wedding ceremony,” she says.

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By law, autonomous vehicles aren’t allowed to carry unaccompanied minors in California. Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving-car company, doesn’t allow kids under 18 to ride alone anywhere outside of metro Phoenix, Arizona. But that hasn’t stopped some time-strapped parents from using their own accounts to transport their kids to school, extracurricular activities, and even social outings. Some have reported that the lack of drivers makes them feel safer.

Waymo is working to crack down on the practice, the company confirmed Friday, after reports of new mid-ride age-verification checks began to float around on social media. The company has “policies in place” to help it identify violations of its terms of service, Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli wrote in a statement to WIRED. “We are continuing to refine our system and processes for accuracy over time.” Violating its terms of service can lead to temporary or permanent suspension of an account, Waymo says.

The company uses cameras inside its cars to check that riders aren’t violating its rules. Its privacy policy notes that the company records video inside the vehicle during trips. Waymo says its support workers “may review video under certain circumstances” and, “in more urgent circumstances,” access live video during a trip. The company says it does not use facial recognition or “other biometric identification technologies” to identify individuals.

The news comes a month after several California labor groups, including the California Gig Workers Union, filed a formal complaint with a state regulatory agency, accusing Waymo of violating the terms of its permit to operate in the state by knowingly transporting unaccompanied minors. The matter was assigned to a judge this week. The state is evaluating new rules that could allow solo riders under 18 in driverless cars, perhaps patterned after a program that permits ride-hail companies with human drivers to transport minors in California.

So far, several fresh-faced adults have been caught in the crossfire. On Tuesday, San Francisco machine learning engineer Nicholas Fleischhauer was about five minutes into his Waymo ride when the car connected him to support. A voice came over the line asking Fleischhauer to verify his age. He told the worker the truth: He’s 35. “I had messy and wet hair and a backpack on me,” he says, by way of explaining why he might have been flagged by Waymo’s system. Plus, “people have told me that I look young for my age.” Fleischhauer says he takes Waymo weekly, but this marked the first time he had been asked about his age.

Since last summer, Waymo has allowed parents in the Phoenix area to set up teen accounts for riders ages 14 to 17. The accounts allow the teen riders’ adults to track their real-time locations during their trips. Waymo says a specially trained team of support agents deals with any issues its teen riders might have. Waymo says that “hundreds” of Phoenix families use the service each week.

In Waymo’s other markets across the US, adults are allowed to ride with guests under 18, though children under 8 must be in a secured car or booster seat.

Ethan S. Klein is 23, but his 26th LA Waymo ride on Thursday—plus the music he was listening to—was interrupted by an in-car call from a support agent who asked him, for the first time, to verify his birth date. Klein is an adult, but his first impulse was almost teen-like. “I was a little startled,” he says. “I thought I was in trouble!”

#Waymo #Crack #Solo #Kids #Driverless #Carsself-driving cars,cars,autonomous vehicles,safety,waymo,uber,kids">Waymo Is Trying to Crack Down on Solo Kids in Driverless CarsBy law, autonomous vehicles aren’t allowed to carry unaccompanied minors in California. Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving-car company, doesn’t allow kids under 18 to ride alone anywhere outside of metro Phoenix, Arizona. But that hasn’t stopped some time-strapped parents from using their own accounts to transport their kids to school, extracurricular activities, and even social outings. Some have reported that the lack of drivers makes them feel safer.Waymo is working to crack down on the practice, the company confirmed Friday, after reports of new mid-ride age-verification checks began to float around on social media. The company has “policies in place” to help it identify violations of its terms of service, Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli wrote in a statement to WIRED. “We are continuing to refine our system and processes for accuracy over time.” Violating its terms of service can lead to temporary or permanent suspension of an account, Waymo says.The company uses cameras inside its cars to check that riders aren’t violating its rules. Its privacy policy notes that the company records video inside the vehicle during trips. Waymo says its support workers “may review video under certain circumstances” and, “in more urgent circumstances,” access live video during a trip. The company says it does not use facial recognition or “other biometric identification technologies” to identify individuals.The news comes a month after several California labor groups, including the California Gig Workers Union, filed a formal complaint with a state regulatory agency, accusing Waymo of violating the terms of its permit to operate in the state by knowingly transporting unaccompanied minors. The matter was assigned to a judge this week. The state is evaluating new rules that could allow solo riders under 18 in driverless cars, perhaps patterned after a program that permits ride-hail companies with human drivers to transport minors in California.So far, several fresh-faced adults have been caught in the crossfire. On Tuesday, San Francisco machine learning engineer Nicholas Fleischhauer was about five minutes into his Waymo ride when the car connected him to support. A voice came over the line asking Fleischhauer to verify his age. He told the worker the truth: He’s 35. “I had messy and wet hair and a backpack on me,” he says, by way of explaining why he might have been flagged by Waymo’s system. Plus, “people have told me that I look young for my age.” Fleischhauer says he takes Waymo weekly, but this marked the first time he had been asked about his age.Since last summer, Waymo has allowed parents in the Phoenix area to set up teen accounts for riders ages 14 to 17. The accounts allow the teen riders’ adults to track their real-time locations during their trips. Waymo says a specially trained team of support agents deals with any issues its teen riders might have. Waymo says that “hundreds” of Phoenix families use the service each week.In Waymo’s other markets across the US, adults are allowed to ride with guests under 18, though children under 8 must be in a secured car or booster seat.Ethan S. Klein is 23, but his 26th LA Waymo ride on Thursday—plus the music he was listening to—was interrupted by an in-car call from a support agent who asked him, for the first time, to verify his birth date. Klein is an adult, but his first impulse was almost teen-like. “I was a little startled,” he says. “I thought I was in trouble!”#Waymo #Crack #Solo #Kids #Driverless #Carsself-driving cars,cars,autonomous vehicles,safety,waymo,uber,kids

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving-car company, doesn’t allow kids under 18 to ride alone anywhere outside of metro Phoenix, Arizona. But that hasn’t stopped some time-strapped parents from using their own accounts to transport their kids to school, extracurricular activities, and even social outings. Some have reported that the lack of drivers makes them feel safer.

Waymo is working to crack down on the practice, the company confirmed Friday, after reports of new mid-ride age-verification checks began to float around on social media. The company has “policies in place” to help it identify violations of its terms of service, Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli wrote in a statement to WIRED. “We are continuing to refine our system and processes for accuracy over time.” Violating its terms of service can lead to temporary or permanent suspension of an account, Waymo says.

The company uses cameras inside its cars to check that riders aren’t violating its rules. Its privacy policy notes that the company records video inside the vehicle during trips. Waymo says its support workers “may review video under certain circumstances” and, “in more urgent circumstances,” access live video during a trip. The company says it does not use facial recognition or “other biometric identification technologies” to identify individuals.

The news comes a month after several California labor groups, including the California Gig Workers Union, filed a formal complaint with a state regulatory agency, accusing Waymo of violating the terms of its permit to operate in the state by knowingly transporting unaccompanied minors. The matter was assigned to a judge this week. The state is evaluating new rules that could allow solo riders under 18 in driverless cars, perhaps patterned after a program that permits ride-hail companies with human drivers to transport minors in California.

So far, several fresh-faced adults have been caught in the crossfire. On Tuesday, San Francisco machine learning engineer Nicholas Fleischhauer was about five minutes into his Waymo ride when the car connected him to support. A voice came over the line asking Fleischhauer to verify his age. He told the worker the truth: He’s 35. “I had messy and wet hair and a backpack on me,” he says, by way of explaining why he might have been flagged by Waymo’s system. Plus, “people have told me that I look young for my age.” Fleischhauer says he takes Waymo weekly, but this marked the first time he had been asked about his age.

Since last summer, Waymo has allowed parents in the Phoenix area to set up teen accounts for riders ages 14 to 17. The accounts allow the teen riders’ adults to track their real-time locations during their trips. Waymo says a specially trained team of support agents deals with any issues its teen riders might have. Waymo says that “hundreds” of Phoenix families use the service each week.

In Waymo’s other markets across the US, adults are allowed to ride with guests under 18, though children under 8 must be in a secured car or booster seat.

Ethan S. Klein is 23, but his 26th LA Waymo ride on Thursday—plus the music he was listening to—was interrupted by an in-car call from a support agent who asked him, for the first time, to verify his birth date. Klein is an adult, but his first impulse was almost teen-like. “I was a little startled,” he says. “I thought I was in trouble!”

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By law, autonomous vehicles aren’t allowed to carry unaccompanied minors in California. Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving-car company, doesn’t allow kids under 18 to ride alone anywhere outside of metro Phoenix, Arizona. But that hasn’t stopped some time-strapped parents from using their own accounts to transport their kids to school, extracurricular activities, and even social outings. Some have reported that the lack of drivers makes them feel safer.

Waymo is working to crack down on the practice, the company confirmed Friday, after reports of new mid-ride age-verification checks began to float around on social media. The company has “policies in place” to help it identify violations of its terms of service, Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli wrote in a statement to WIRED. “We are continuing to refine our system and processes for accuracy over time.” Violating its terms of service can lead to temporary or permanent suspension of an account, Waymo says.

The company uses cameras inside its cars to check that riders aren’t violating its rules. Its privacy policy notes that the company records video inside the vehicle during trips. Waymo says its support workers “may review video under certain circumstances” and, “in more urgent circumstances,” access live video during a trip. The company says it does not use facial recognition or “other biometric identification technologies” to identify individuals.

The news comes a month after several California labor groups, including the California Gig Workers Union, filed a formal complaint with a state regulatory agency, accusing Waymo of violating the terms of its permit to operate in the state by knowingly transporting unaccompanied minors. The matter was assigned to a judge this week. The state is evaluating new rules that could allow solo riders under 18 in driverless cars, perhaps patterned after a program that permits ride-hail companies with human drivers to transport minors in California.

So far, several fresh-faced adults have been caught in the crossfire. On Tuesday, San Francisco machine learning engineer Nicholas Fleischhauer was about five minutes into his Waymo ride when the car connected him to support. A voice came over the line asking Fleischhauer to verify his age. He told the worker the truth: He’s 35. “I had messy and wet hair and a backpack on me,” he says, by way of explaining why he might have been flagged by Waymo’s system. Plus, “people have told me that I look young for my age.” Fleischhauer says he takes Waymo weekly, but this marked the first time he had been asked about his age.

Since last summer, Waymo has allowed parents in the Phoenix area to set up teen accounts for riders ages 14 to 17. The accounts allow the teen riders’ adults to track their real-time locations during their trips. Waymo says a specially trained team of support agents deals with any issues its teen riders might have. Waymo says that “hundreds” of Phoenix families use the service each week.

In Waymo’s other markets across the US, adults are allowed to ride with guests under 18, though children under 8 must be in a secured car or booster seat.

Ethan S. Klein is 23, but his 26th LA Waymo ride on Thursday—plus the music he was listening to—was interrupted by an in-car call from a support agent who asked him, for the first time, to verify his birth date. Klein is an adult, but his first impulse was almost teen-like. “I was a little startled,” he says. “I thought I was in trouble!”

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from Command Palette, a utility available through PowerToys that allows you to quickly run commands, open websites, search files, and more. Windows 11 Insiders can enable the new Run menu by going to Settings > System > Advanced and turning the option on. An early version of the redesigned Run menu started appearing in preview builds last year.

“We’ve collaborated tightly with partners across the platform to get these UI surfaces loading snappy,” Microsoft’s blog post says. “Improvements we’ve made to the platform don’t just make Run fast, but they help make the whole OS more efficient.”

#Microsoft #tests #redesigned #Windows #Run #menu #dark #modeMicrosoft,News,Tech,Windows">Microsoft tests redesigned Windows 11 Run menu with dark mode and more

In a blog post explaining the changes, Microsoft says it decided to drop the Run menu’s “Browse” button — a shortcut to user files — after finding “very low usage.” Instead, Microsoft added support for a new “~\” command, which leads to your user directory.

Microsoft says it built the new Run menu using code from Command Palette, a utility available through PowerToys that allows you to quickly run commands, open websites, search files, and more. Windows 11 Insiders can enable the new Run menu by going to Settings > System > Advanced and turning the option on. An early version of the redesigned Run menu started appearing in preview builds last year.

“We’ve collaborated tightly with partners across the platform to get these UI surfaces loading snappy,” Microsoft’s blog post says. “Improvements we’ve made to the platform don’t just make Run fast, but they help make the whole OS more efficient.”

#Microsoft #tests #redesigned #Windows #Run #menu #dark #modeMicrosoft,News,Tech,Windows

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