As a historian of consumer boycotts, I believe it is time for Europeans to join the QuitGPT movement. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is on track to lose $14 billion this year, with its market share collapsing from 69% to 45%. A simple 10-second cancellation of your subscription can accelerate this decline.
The boycott was triggered by news that OpenAI president Greg Brockman donated $25 million to Maga Inc, Donald Trump's largest Super PAC, making him Trump's biggest donor. Brockman claimed this was in service of OpenAI's mission to benefit 'humanity'. However, ICE has used a ChatGPT-powered screening tool, and Brockman helped launch a $125 million lobbying initiative to prevent state regulation of AI.
Last week, when the Trump administration demanded AI companies give the Pentagon unrestricted access for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, Anthropic (maker of ChatGPT competitor Claude) refused. The administration retaliated by ordering federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's technology, effectively a corporate death sentence. That same Friday, Sam Altman quietly signed a deal with the Pentagon to take Anthropic's place.
I am not anti-AI; I use AI tools daily. This is about rejecting the idea that we must fund a company bankrolling authoritarianism. Effective boycotts are narrow and easy. QuitGPT fits this pattern: OpenAI is vulnerable, burning cash rapidly, and every cancellation registers with investors.
More than a million people have already joined, with support from Mark Ruffalo and Katy Perry. Join the boycott and send a powerful signal to Silicon Valley.
