San Francisco Police have arrested one suspect after a Molotov cocktail was hurled at the house of OpenAI chief Sam Altman, and for making threats outside the tech giant's headquarters on Friday.
No one was injured in the incident, and the company behind the widely used ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot declined to confirm whether its chief executive, Sam Altman, was at home at the time.
The motive behind the attack and subsequent threats to set fire to OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco, reportedly made by the same 20-year-old suspect, remains unclear.
The incident comes as Altman’s public profile has grown alongside the rapid adoption of AI, amid concerns over its potential to disrupt employment and bring far-reaching societal change. Police in San Francisco responded to reports that an individual had attempted to set fire to a gate at the executive’s residence.
According to a statement from the San Francisco Police Department, officers were dispatched shortly after 4:00 am.
"At the scene, officers learned that an unknown male subject threw an incendiary destructive device at a home, causing a fire to an exterior gate. The suspect then fled on foot," the department said.
A short time later, officers were called to the company’s offices, where a man was making threats.
"When officers arrived on scene, they recognised the male to be the same suspect from the earlier incident and immediately detained him," the statement added, referring to the unnamed 20-year-old suspect.
A spokesperson for OpenAI confirmed the attack on the chief executive’s residence and the threats to its San Francisco offices.
"The individual is in custody, and we're assisting law enforcement with their investigation," the spokesperson said.
Protests against OpenAI and Altman
Altman and OpenAI have increasingly become targets of protest from those who view AI as a threat to society. Critics have expressed particular concern over the company’s decision to supply its technology to the US Department of Defense.
In a rare post on his personal blog, Altman shared a photograph of his husband and their baby, saying it was “in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house.”
The OpenAI chief defended his position and called for a reduction in the intensity of the debate.
"I empathise 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 said last month it was valued at USD 852 billion following a funding round that raised USD 122 billion.
The valuation reflects rising computing costs and comes amid ongoing questions about whether the company and its competitors can generate enough revenue to offset expenses.
ChatGPT remains the leading consumer AI platform, with more than 900 million weekly active users and about 50 million subscribers. Use of ChatGPT’s online search features has tripled over the past year, according to OpenAI.
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