The FBI has opened an investigation into two dangerous incidents over the weekend near the San Francisco home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
No one was injured. It is not certain that either incident was motivated by fears over artificial intelligence. Altman, however, is widely considered the most prominent figure in the artificial intelligence sector, leading OpenAI, one of the world’s most recognized AI companies.
On Monday, the FBI raided a Houston-area home that is reportedly connected to 20-year-old Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama, who was arrested Friday after a person threw a Molotov cocktail outside Altman’s home in San Francisco.
Moreno-Gama is charged with suspicion of attempted murder, arson, and possession or manufacture of an incendiary device, among other charges.
Are these attacks related to AI?
Fox News reported that the Friday morning attack was directly related to Altman’s work. The network said authorities found an anti-AI manifesto on Moreno-Gama when they arrested him. It was described as a “three-part series” that included personal information on other AI executives and investors.
A police report obtained by The San Francisco Standard said a flaming bottle was thrown at the metal gate outside Altman’s house at about 3:40 a.m. PT Friday. Security guards extinguished the fire.
Afterward, guards at OpenAI’s headquarters reported seeing a person who resembled the suspect seen at Altman’s home, The Standard reported. Police later arrested him after he made threats toward the building.
The second incident took place just before 2 a.m. Sunday. The San Francisco police said a car stopped on the street near Altman’s house and fired shots before driving away. A surveillance camera recorded the car and its license plate.
The police later arrested Amanda Tom, 25, and Muhamad Tarik Hussein, 23, at a residence where officers confiscated three firearms.
Authorities have not said definitively that the second attack targeted at Altman or that it was motivated by his controversial, emerging technology.
Altman responds
The incidents occurred less than a week after The New Yorker published a lengthy investigative article that raised questions about Altman’s trustworthiness and his management of OpenAI.
In a blog post, Altman described the article as “incendiary,” while also responding to the Molotov cocktail incident. The post was accompanied by a photo of his husband and child.
Altman said he understands the ethical debates and other concerns about AI, especially over potential job losses.
“While we have that debate,” Altman wrote, “we should de-escalate the rhetoric and tactics and try to have fewer explosions in fewer homes, figuratively and literally.”
He added that AI could be the “largest change to society in a long time, and perhaps ever,” but that people could do “incredible things” with AI. Altman believes that the technology could “make the future unbelievably good.”
A recent Pew Research Poll found that more Americans are concerned about AI than excited about it. About 60% of people said they would prefer more control over how people use AI.
AI-enhanced fear
Incidents targeting AI companies, employees and buildings connected to the technology have occurred in the past, but it’s hard to say whether they have increased.
In November, police said Sam Kirchner threatened to go into OpenAI’s offices and begin killing employees inside, causing the offices to go on lockdown for an afternoon. Kirchner is the cofounder of a San Francisco-based anti-AI protest group, Stop AI.
The group suggested Kirchner may have had a mental health crisis. He has not been heard from since the November incident.