San Francisco (United States) (AFP) – A man who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s luxury California home was trying to kill the boss of artificial intelligence giant OpenAI and was in possession of an anti-AI document, US officials said Monday. The claims came as prosecutors levied federal charges against Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, over the attack on Friday in San Francisco. The Department of Justice stated that Moreno-Gama had traveled from his home in Texas to carry out the attack on Altman, whose company is behind the popular ChatGPT chatbot.
“Violence cannot be the norm for expressing disagreement, be it with politics or technology or any other matter,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “These alleged actions – which damaged property and could well have taken lives – will be aggressively prosecuted.” Prosecutors claim that after lobbing a firebomb at the gates of Altman’s home, Moreno-Gama fled on foot to the San Francisco headquarters of OpenAI, where he attempted to smash the glass doors of the building with a chair. He “stated that he had come to burn down the location and kill anyone inside,” prosecutors said in the federal criminal complaint.
According to the complaint, when police arrived, they found Moreno-Gama with a jug of kerosene, a lighter, and a document entitled “Your Last Warning” which “advocated against AI and for the killing and commission of other crimes against CEOs of AI companies and their investors.” The three-part document was allegedly authored by Moreno-Gama and listed “names and addresses that purported to belong to multiple CEOs and investors.” Another part of the publication dealt with the “purported risk AI poses to humanity,” according to the complaint. Prosecutors claim he ended the document, which included an admission he was trying to kill Altman, with the phrase: “If by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself.”
Moreno-Gama faces one charge of damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and one of possession of an unregistered firearm. This incident marks the latest high-profile attack in the US allegedly involving a call to arms against executives or influential figures.
No one was injured in the home and office attacks, which came as Altman’s profile has risen with the increasing use of AI and ethical concerns surrounding its use. The CEO and his firm have become targets for people protesting the technology as a threat to society. Detractors have been particularly troubled by OpenAI’s decision to provide its know-how to the US Department of Defense.
In a rare post on his personal blog in the aftermath of the attack, Altman shared a photo of his husband and their baby “in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house.” The OpenAI chief defended his convictions and called for a de-escalation of rhetoric on the topic. “I empathize with anti-technology sentiments and clearly technology isn’t always good for everyone,” Altman wrote. “But overall, I believe technological progress can make the future unbelievably good, for your family and mine.”
OpenAI last month stated it was valued at $852 billion after a funding round that raised $122 billion. The figure reflects the surging costs of computing power and came amid lingering questions about whether OpenAI and rival companies can generate sufficient revenue to cover expenses. ChatGPT claims the top position in consumer AI, with more than 900 million weekly active users and some 50 million subscribers. Use of ChatGPT’s online search engine has tripled over the course of a year, according to OpenAI.
© 2024 AFP
