OpenAI suspect’s chilling manifesto: “If I’m going to urge others to kill and commit crimes, I must set an example”

(SeaPRwire) –   Authorities stated Monday that the individual accused of hurling a Molotov cocktail at the residence of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had documented concerns about artificial intelligence’s alleged threat to mankind and journeyed from Texas to San Francisco with the intent to murder Altman.

Police allege that 20-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama threw the incendiary device around 4 a.m. on Friday, igniting an exterior gate at Altman’s home before escaping on foot. Within an hour, Moreno-Gama is accused of traveling approximately 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) to OpenAI’s headquarters and threatening to set the building ablaze.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Moreno-Gama is against artificial intelligence, having written about its purported danger to humanity and “our impending extinction.”

“This was not spontaneous. This was planned, targeted and extremely serious,” FBI San Francisco Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo stated at a press conference.

Officials confirmed no injuries occurred at Altman’s home or the company offices.

Moreno-Gama faces state and federal charges

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that Moreno-Gama faces state charges, including two counts of attempted murder and attempted arson. She alleged he attempted to kill both Altman and a security guard at the residence. He is scheduled for a court appearance Tuesday, and online state records currently show no attorney listed for him.

Jenkins noted the state charges carry potential sentences from 19 years to life imprisonment.

On Monday morning, FBI agents visited Moreno-Gama’s home in Spring, Texas, a Houston suburb, spending several hours there. Federal prosecutors have charged him with possession of an unregistered firearm and damaging or destroying property using explosives. These federal charges carry maximum penalties of 10 years and 20 years in prison, respectively.

Federal court documents do not indicate an attorney for Moreno-Gama, and he has not yet made an initial appearance in federal court.

Authorities allege Moreno-Gama traveled from his Texas home to San Francisco and went to Altman’s home in the early hours of Friday.

Authorities say Moreno-Gama was opposed to artificial intelligence

Upon his arrest Friday, officials reportedly found a document on Moreno-Gama where he “identified views opposed to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the executives of various AI companies,” court documents state. The complaint says the document addressed AI’s alleged risk to humanity and “our impending extinction.”

Surveillance images in the complaint show a person in dark hoodie and pants, whom the FBI alleges is Moreno-Gama, approaching Altman’s driveway. The images depict the individual throwing the Molotov cocktail, which struck the top of a metal gate and ignited a minor fire.

Additional surveillance footage from outside OpenAI’s headquarters allegedly shows Moreno-Gama seizing a chair and striking glass doors with it. According to the complaint, building security approached him, and he told them he came “to burn it down and kill anyone inside.”

San Francisco police arrested Moreno-Gama and confiscated “incendiary devices, a jug of kerosene, a blue lighter, and a document.” He was held Monday in San Francisco County Jail on state charges and was anticipated to appear in court Tuesday.

U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian stated authorities “will treat this as an act of domestic terrorism, and together with our partners, prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.”

Authorities say Moreno-Gama’s anti-AI document contained threats against Altman

Officials said the document in which Moreno-Gama expressed his anti-AI views also included threats directed at Altman.

Authorities allege Moreno-Gama wrote in the document: “Also if I am going to advocate for others to kill and commit crimes, then I must lead by example and show that I am fully sincere in my message.”

Advocacy groups that have raised serious alarms about AI’s societal risks denounced the violent acts.

In a written statement Friday, Anthony Aguirre, president and CEO of the Future of Life Institute, said “violence and intimidation of any kind have no place in the conversation about the future of AI.”

Another organization, PauseAI, stated the suspect held no position within the group but had joined its Discord forum roughly two years prior, posting about 34 messages. None contained direct incitements to violence, though one was marked as “ambiguous.”

Discord announced Monday it had banned Moreno-Gama for “off-platform behavior.”

Altman addressed the threats in a blog post

Hours after the assault on his home, Altman published a blog post addressing the threats, which included a photo of his husband and their young child.

“Normally we try to be pretty private, but in this case I am sharing a photo in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house, no matter what they think about me,” Altman wrote.

He added that while “fear and anxiety about AI is justified,” it is crucial to “de-escalate the rhetoric and tactics and try to have fewer explosions in fewer homes, figuratively and literally.”

Altman has emerged as a leading figure in Silicon Valley regarding the potential and perils of AI. The attack follows shortly after The New Yorker published an in-depth investigation examining concerns some individuals harbor about him and his company.

Debate about the impact of AI is growing

The incident occurred amidst escalating debate over the societal impact of AI assistants like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which millions use for information, advice, writing assistance, and task completion.

An annual report from Stanford University, the AI Index, released Monday, found that a majority believe AI’s advantages surpass its downsides, “but nervousness is growing and trust in institutions to manage the technology remains uneven.”

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Lozano reported from Houston and Oyekanmi reported from Spring, Texas. Associated Press journalists Matt O’Brien from Providence, Rhode Island and Rebecca Boone from Boise, Idaho contributed.