OpenAI Locks Down San Francisco Offices Following Alleged Threat From Former Anti-AI Activist

OpenAI Locks Down San Francisco Offices Following Alleged Threat From Activist

OpenAI employees in San Francisco were told to stay inside the office on Friday afternoon after the company purportedly received a threat from an individual who was previously associated with the Stop AI activist group. "Our information indicates that [name] from StopAI has expressed interest in causing physical harm to OpenAI employees," a member of the internal communications team wrote on Slack. "He has previously been on site at our San Francisco facilities." Just before 11 am, San Francisco police received a 911 call about a man allegedly making threats and intending to harm others at 550 Terry Francois Boulevard, which is near OpenAI's offices in the Mission Bay neighborhood, according to data tracked by the crime app Citizen. A police scanner recording archived on the app describes the suspect by name and alleges he may have purchased weapons with the intention of targeting additional OpenAI locations. Hours before the incident on Friday, the individual who allegedly made the threat said he was no longer part of Stop AI in a post on social media. WIRED reached out to the man in question but did not immediately receive a response. San Francisco police also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OpenAI did not provide a statement prior to publication. On Slack, the internal communications team provided three images of the man suspected of making the threat. Later, a high-ranking member of the global security team said "At this time, there is no indication of active threat activity, the situation remains ongoing and we're taking measured precautions as the assessment continues." Employees were told to remove their badges when exiting the building and to avoid wearing clothing items with the OpenAI logo. Over the past couple of years, protestors affiliated with groups calling themselves Stop AI, No AGI, and Pause AI have held demonstrations outside the San Francisco offices of several AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, over concerns that the unfettered development of advanced AI could harm humanity. In February, protestors were arrested for locking the front doors to OpenAI's Mission Bay office. Earlier this month, StopAI claimed its public defender was the man who jumped onstage to subpoena OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during an onstage interview in San Francisco. In a Stop AI press release from last year, the individual who police said was alleged to have made the threat against OpenAI staffers is described as an organizer and quoted as saying that he would find "life not worth living" if AI technologies were to replace humans in making scientific discoveries and taking over jobs. "Pause AI may be viewed as radical amongst AI people and techies," he said. "But it is not radical amongst the general public, and neither is stopping AGI development altogether."

OpenAI Locks Down Office After Violent Threat

"He has previously been on site at our San Francisco facilities." With so much doomsaying over the existential threat of AI -- nevermind its toll on environmental, economic, and mental health -- it was perhaps only a matter of time before heated rhetoric spilled out of the internet and into the real world. Case in point, OpenAI reportedly locked down its offices in San Francisco after it allegedly received a violent threat from an anti-AI diehard. "Our information indicates that [an activist] from StopAI has expressed interest in causing physical harm to OpenAI employees," an OpenAI employee wrote on Slack, according to Wired. "He has previously been on site at our San Francisco facilities." Though Wired didn't identify the individual by name, the publication City Journal later reported that the group StopAI -- an activist organization struggling for a permanent ban on AI development -- posted a lengthy statement indicating it may be Sam Kirchner, one of the group's cofounders. In its statement, StopAI distanced itself from Kirchner, stressing the group is "deeply committed to nonviolence." Just before OpenAI went into lockdown, Kirchner posted on social media that he is "no longer part of StopAI." Per CJ, Kirchner's present whereabouts are unknown. It also isn't clear yet if Kirchner was the same activist making the threats, though StopAI claimed that the cofounder had assaulted another member of the group who "refused to give [Kirchner] access to funds" prior to OpenAI's lockdown. "His volatile, erratic behavior and statements he made renouncing nonviolence caused the victim of his assault to fear that he might procure a weapon that he could use against employees of companies pursuing artificial superintelligence," the group wrote. StopAI organizers have previously coordinated hunger strikes in front of various AI company offices. Earlier this month, the group also claimed responsibility after an attorney from the San Francisco Public Defender's Office served OpenAI CEO Sam Altman a subpoena to appear as a witness in a criminal case. More on AI: Protesters Swarm OpenAI

OpenAI Locks Down San Francisco Office After Activist Threat Raises Alarm

A threat from a former Stop AI activist forced OpenAI to lock down its San Francisco office. OpenAI locked down its San Francisco offices on Friday after an internal alert. The alert identified a credible threat linked to a former Stop AI organizer. The company instructed staff to remain inside its Mission Bay headquarters as security teams coordinated with local police. San Francisco police received a 911 call around 11 a.m. about a man allegedly making threats near 550 Terry Francois Boulevard, close to OpenAI's main office. Crime tracking data from the Citizen app indicated that police radio traffic named the suspect. Officers also believed he may have purchased weapons and considered targeting multiple OpenAI locations.