Zoë Hitzig, a former researcher at OpenAI, has publicly resigned from the company, citing concerns over the introduction of advertisements in ChatGPT. In a guest essay published in The New York Times on Wednesday, Hitzig detailed her departure, which coincided with OpenAI’s Monday launch of ad testing for the AI chatbot.
Hitzig, an economist and poet who holds a junior fellowship at the Harvard Society of Fellows, spent two years at OpenAI. During her tenure, she contributed to the development and pricing strategies for the company’s AI models. In her essay, she expressed disappointment that OpenAI appears to have shifted away from the core questions she aimed to address, stating, “This week confirmed my slow realization that OpenAI seems to have stopped asking the questions I’d joined to help answer.”
She did not condemn advertising as inherently unethical. Instead, Hitzig focused on the unique risks posed by ads in ChatGPT, given the sensitive nature of user data involved. Users have shared intimate details such as medical anxieties, relationship issues, and religious beliefs with the chatbot, often under the assumption that it operates without hidden motives. Hitzig described this collection of personal disclosures as “an archive of human candor that has no precedent.”
Drawing a direct comparison to Facebook’s historical trajectory, Hitzig noted that the social media platform initially promised users control over their data and input on policy changes. Over time, these commitments weakened, and the Federal Trade Commission found that privacy adjustments marketed as enhancing user control actually reduced it. She warned that ChatGPT could follow a similar path, saying, “I believe the first iteration of ads will probably follow those principles. But I’m worried subsequent iterations won’t, because the company is building an economic engine that creates strong incentives to override its own rules.”
Hitzig’s resignation adds to an ongoing industry debate about advertising in AI chatbots. In January, OpenAI announced plans to test ads in the United States for users on free and $8-per-month “Go” subscription tiers, while excluding paid Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education subscribers. The company specified that ads would appear at the bottom of ChatGPT responses, be clearly labeled, and not affect the chatbot’s answers.
This move comes amid a week of heightened discussion within the AI sector regarding monetization strategies and ethical implications. Hitzig’s critique underscores broader concerns about how tech companies balance revenue generation with user trust, especially when handling unprecedented volumes of personal data.
