In San Francisco, 20-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama faces attempted murder and arson charges after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at the residence of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced at a Monday press conference that Moreno-Gama has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and nine other charges following last week's arson attack.
Jenkins stated at the press conference: "We interpret this behavior for just what it is: An attempt on Mr. Altman's life and an extreme danger to those around him and those who work for his company." She added: "As the DA, my office will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law."
Moreno-Gama also separately faces federal charges of attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives, and possession of an unregistered firearm. Under these charges, he faces the possibility of life in prison. According to an FBI affidavit, Moreno-Gama from Houston, Texas, was captured on security cameras hurling an incendiary device at Altman's home shortly after 3:30 a.m. local time on Friday.
The suspect then traveled to OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters, where he struck the building's glass doors with a chair and stated his intention to "burn it down and kill anyone inside," according to the affidavit filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California. After arresting Moreno-Gama at the scene, police recovered incendiary devices, a container of kerosene, a lighter, and a document expressing opposition to artificial intelligence and tech executives, including Altman.
The document recovered at the scene stated that Moreno-Gama had killed or attempted to kill Altman, and that he "must lead by example and show that I am fully sincere in my message." Altman, whose company's release of ChatGPT in 2022 marked a watershed in AI development, has become a focal point for heated discussions about the potential risks and benefits of rapidly advancing technology.
In a blog post after Friday's arson attack, Altman said that while much criticism of the tech industry is driven by sincere concerns about the "incredibly high stakes" of AI, it was time to de-escalate the rhetoric of public debate. Jenkins criticized what she described as "incendiary rhetoric" about AI's potential impact on society during her press conference.
Source: www.aljazeera.com