San Francisco police have arrested a 20-year-old man on charges that he threw a Molotov cocktail at the residence of AI tycoon Sam Altman. The man also allegedly threatened to burn down OpenAI headquarters before his arrest. Altman is attempting to link the attack to a scathing expose by Ronan Farrow published this week, writing, “Words have power too. There was an incendiary article about me a few days ago.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the firebomb attack on Altman’s home occurred at approximately 3:45 a.m. when an incendiary device was hurled at the property. Security personnel extinguished flames at an exterior gate before firefighters arrived on the scene. No injuries were reported in the attack.
Hours after the incident, Altman published a blog post addressing the attack and its broader implications. “The first person did it last night, at 3:45 am in the morning. Thankfully, it bounced off the house and no one got hurt,” he wrote.
The OpenAI chief executive suggested the attack might be connected to increasing tensions surrounding artificial intelligence and public scrutiny of his leadership role in the rapidly evolving technology sector. He referenced recent critical coverage and warned about the potential consequences of inflammatory rhetoric.
“Words have power too. There was an incendiary article about me a few days ago,” Altman wrote. “Someone said to me yesterday they thought it was coming at a time of great anxiety about AI and that it made things more dangerous for me. I brushed it aside.”
He continued, “Now I am awake in the middle of the night and pissed, and thinking that I have underestimated the power of words and narratives.”
Altman’s blog post is referencing an article written by Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz that paints the OpenAI boss as a sociopath, sending shockwaves through the AI community.
San Francisco police arrested Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama, 20, in connection with the attack. According to jail records, he was booked on suspicion of attempted murder, making criminal threats, and possession or manufacture of a destructive device. As of Friday afternoon, prosecutors had not yet filed formal charges.
The suspect fled the scene before first responders arrived. Fire crews discovered evidence of an incendiary device and notified police. Approximately one hour after the initial incident, officers responded to reports of a man making threats near the location of OpenAI’s headquarters. Police recognized the individual as matching the description of the suspect from the earlier incident and took him into custody. Authorities have not publicly announced a motive for the attack. Moreno-Gama remained in custody as of Friday afternoon.
In his blog post, Altman expanded his commentary beyond the immediate incident to address what he characterized as a volatile moment in public discourse surrounding artificial intelligence development and deployment. “The fear and anxiety about AI is justified; we are in the process of witnessing the largest change to society in a long time, and perhaps ever,” he wrote.
Breitbart News social media director and author Wynton Hall explains in his instant bestseller, Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI, that conservatives must develop a plan to deal with the dramatic changes that AI has the potential to bring to many areas of life. Moving forward without this blueprint could allow people like Sam Altman to enact their progressive vision of AI instead of technology that benefits all Americans.
Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.
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