San Francisco
Sam Altman

"He wanted to kill him": Details emerge about the attacker at Sam Altman's home.

After throwing a Molotov cocktail at the San Francisco home of AI giant OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last Friday, US authorities have revealed details about the suspect.
Authorities announced on Monday that the suspect was seeking to kill Altman and was carrying a manifesto opposing artificial intelligence.

She also clarified that the suspect arrested shortly after the incident is Daniel Moreno Gama, a 20-year-old from Texas. He was charged with attempted property damage using explosives and possession of an unlicensed firearm, according to the same source.

"Your final warning"

This came after the company that developed the ChatGBT software announced that Altman's luxurious California mansion was targeted on Friday with a Molotov cocktail, adding that its offices had also been threatened. No injuries were reported.

According to the Justice Department, after throwing the Molotov cocktail, the attacker fled on foot to the OpenAI company headquarters on the other side of the city, where he attempted to smash the glass doors with a chair. According to the federal indictment, he stated that he came "to burn the place down and kill everyone inside."

When police arrived, they found in his possession a can of kerosene, a lighter, and a document entitled "Your Last Warning" that called for "fighting artificial intelligence and encouraged murder and other crimes" against business leaders in the artificial intelligence sector, according to the Justice Department.

This text, attributed to the suspect, also includes a list of names and addresses allegedly belonging to a number of executives and investors, as well as a section discussing the risks that artificial intelligence poses to humanity.
According to the authorities, the document also stated that he attempted to kill the president of OpenAI.

"A softening of tone"

Then, shortly after the incident, Altman, in a rare post on his personal blog, called for "calming down in tone and in methods," in a clear reference to criticism directed at the artificial intelligence industry.
Sam Altman, whose fortune is estimated at $3.4 billion according to Forbes magazine, owns a property in the upscale Russian Hill neighborhood, one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in San Francisco, the world's technology capital.

ChatGBT is considered a leader in consumer artificial intelligence, boasting over 900 million weekly active users and nearly 50 million subscribers. The company reported that usage of its web search engine tripled in a single year, according to AFP.