ChatGPT Health is a marketplace, guess who is the product?

Summary

If you read OpenAI’s recent announcement about ChatGPT Health, you might wonder why an AI company under immense financial pressure is venturing into the health business. The answer is buried in the announcement, obscured by an excessive amount of privacy theatre. Privacy Theatre What struck me most about OpenAI’s blog post is how much effort they put into reassuring users about privacy. They go out of their way to explain that the experience is private, that it’s secure, that they’ve gone above and beyond industry standards. The message between the lines is clear: don’t worry, you’re safe, we have your back. This is a strange message coming from OpenAI. Their track record on privacy has been abysmal. On the free tier of ChatGPT, there is no privacy by default. Even on the paid Plus and Pro plans, you don’t get privacy by default. You can opt in to chat history privacy, but that’s just one aspect of it. Actual privacy is listed as a selling point for the Enterprise plan. It’s what you pay extra for. So when OpenAI suddenly positions itself as a privacy-first company for ChatGPT Health, we should be skeptical. This is a reminder that even if you are paying for the product, you can still end up as the product in a multi-tiered market. Follow the Money OpenAI is a company facing projected losses of $115-143 billion through 2029. They are under immense pressure to monetize everything they can. So ask yourself: why is OpenAI going into the health business? Is it benevolence? Did they suddenly realize they can do a lot of good in the health space? I ruled that out immediately. The real answer becomes clearer when you look at what ChatGPT Health actually does. According to OpenAI’s announcement, the product helps users “understand the tradeoffs of different insurance options based on your healthcare patterns.” It connects to your medical records, wellness apps like Peloton and Weight Watchers, and health data from Apple Health. It creates a comprehensive profile of your hea...