The sculpture, titled What Iceberg?, stands 5 feet tall and depicts OpenAI leadership and investors fleeing a sinking vessel. The creators, members of the Berkeley-based Odd Friend Studio, constructed the piece using papier-mache, cardboard, paint, and a repurposed table over a five-day period.
The co-creator, identified as Kevin, stated that the project serves as a critique of the economic disparity surrounding AI development. He emphasized that the work represents the human effort and time required for creation, contrasting this manual craftsmanship with the output of generative AI models.
OpenAI has faced increasing public and legal scrutiny. Last week, protesters gathered at the company's New York City offices. On Monday, the firm halted training for its GPT-6.1 Astra model citing safety concerns and issued an apology for unauthorized access to Australian government websites.
Legal pressure is also mounting against the company. The state of Florida has filed a request with a court to suspend OpenAI's development activities, characterizing the company's technology as an unacceptably risky product. OpenAI did not provide a comment regarding these developments.
