OpenAI staff in San Francisco had been advised to remain contained in the workplace on Friday afternoon after the corporate purportedly acquired a risk from a person who was beforehand related to the Cease AI activist group.
“Our info signifies that [name] from StopAI has expressed curiosity in inflicting bodily hurt to OpenAI staff,” a member of the inner communications workforce wrote on Slack. “He has beforehand been on website at our San Francisco amenities.”
Simply earlier than 11 am, San Francisco police acquired a 911 name a few man allegedly making threats and aspiring to hurt others at 550 Terry Francois Boulevard, which is close to OpenAI’s places of work within the Mission Bay neighborhood, in response to data tracked by the crime app Citizen. A police scanner recording archived on the app describes the suspect by identify and alleges he could have bought weapons with the intention of concentrating on further OpenAI places.
Hours earlier than the incident on Friday, the person who police flagged as allegedly making the thread mentioned he was not a part of Cease AI in a submit on social media.
WIRED reached out to the person in query however didn’t instantly obtain a response. San Francisco police additionally didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. OpenAI didn’t present a press release previous to publication.
On Slack, the inner communications workforce supplied three pictures of the person suspected of constructing the risk. Later, a high-ranking member of the worldwide safety workforce mentioned “Right now, there isn’t any indication of energetic risk exercise, the scenario stays ongoing and we’re taking measured precautions because the evaluation continues.” Workers had been advised to take away their badges when exiting the constructing and to keep away from carrying clothes gadgets with the OpenAI brand.
Over the previous couple of years, protestors affiliated with teams calling themselves Cease AI, No AGI, and Pause AI have held demonstrations outdoors the San Francisco places of work of a number of AI firms, together with OpenAI and Anthropic, over issues that the unfettered growth of superior AI might hurt humanity. In February, protestors had been arrested for locking the front doors to OpenAI’s Mission Bay workplace. Earlier this month, StopAI claimed its public defender was the person who jumped onstage to subpoena OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during an onstage interview in San Francisco.
In a Cease AI press launch from final yr, the person who police mentioned was alleged to have made the risk in opposition to OpenAI staffers is described as an organizer and quoted as saying that he would discover “life not price residing” if AI applied sciences had been to switch people in making scientific discoveries and taking on jobs. “Pause AI could also be considered as radical amongst AI folks and techies,” he mentioned. “However it isn’t radical amongst most of the people, and neither is stopping AGI growth altogether.”
