OpenAI’s San Francisco office went into lockdown on a Friday afternoon following a reported threat from an individual associated with an activist group opposed to AI development. Internal communications indicated that the person had expressed intentions to harm OpenAI employees.
San Francisco police received a 911 call about a man reportedly making threats near OpenAI’s facility in the Mission Bay neighborhood. According to police radio chatter, this individual may have purchased weapons to target OpenAI locations.
Earlier that day, the suspect claimed on social media that he had left the activist group Stop AI. Contacted by reporters, he did not immediately respond, and police did not provide comments. OpenAI also refrained from making a public statement before news publication.
As a precautionary measure, OpenAI’s security team shared images of the suspected individual on their internal communications platform. They reassured employees that, while there was no active threat detected at the moment, safety measures were being enforced, including the removal of OpenAI identification badges and avoiding clothing displaying the company logo.
This incident comes amidst growing protests from various activist groups, like Stop AI and Pause AI, who have staged demonstrations at the offices of AI companies due to concerns about the implications of advanced AI technologies. Past protests included events where activists locked the doors at OpenAI’s office, voicing their fears that AI could replace human agency in critical areas, such as scientific discovery and job security.
