Man who vandalized Sam Altman's home claimed AI would end humanity, charged with attempted murder

[midian182]

What just happened? The person behind the Molotov cocktail attack on Sam Altman's home who also threatened to burn down OpenAI's offices over the weekend was motivated by the belief that AI would lead to humanity's extinction. Daniel Moreno-Gama, from Texas, is facing several charges for his actions, including attempted murder.

Twenty-year-old Moreno-Gama threw a bottle containing a flaming rag at the metal gate of 855 Chestnut Street at around 3:40 am on Friday. He was later detained outside of OpenAI's Third Street offices after threatening to burn down the building.

The Department of Justice has now charged Moreno-Gama. The release includes photos appearing to show him holding the Molotov and throwing it at Altman's residence.

There are also images of Moreno-Gama hitting the OpenAI office's glass door with a chair. He said at the time that he had come to burn down the location and kill anyone inside.

In addition to a jug of kerosene and a blue lighter, San Francisco Police Department officers found a three-part document on Moreno-Gama. The first section is titled "Your Last Warning." It advocates the killing of, and the commission of other crimes against, CEOs of AI companies and their investors and lists multiple names and addresses.

Moreno-Gama admitted to attempting to kill Altman in the document and requested others to join his movement.

A second section, titled "some more words on the matter of our impending extinction," mentions the risks to humanity posed by AI.

The document ends with a letter addressed to the OpenAI boss that reads: "If by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself…"

On the same day he committed the attack, Moreno-Gama emailed a version of the document to representatives at his former college, Lone Star College, back in Montgomery, Texas.

The San Francisco District Attorney said on Monday that Moreno-Gama is being charged with attempted murder. He is also facing federal charges that include attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm.

Altman responded to the incident on Friday by publishing a post that included a photo of his husband and their child. "I am sharing a photo in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house, no matter what they think about me," he wrote. He admitted in his post that "the fear and anxiety about AI is justified."

Two days after the attack took place, a second incident occurred targeting Altman's property. The police report states that on Sunday at 1:40 am, a Honda sedan with two people inside stopped in front of Altman's property. The person in the passenger seat then put their hand out the window and appeared to fire a round at the house before the car fled.

Two suspects, Amanda Tom, 25, and Muhamad Tarik Hussein, 23, were arrested and booked for negligent discharge. Three firearms were located and seized at the residence where the suspects were arrested.

Permalink to story:

Man who vandalized Sam Altman's home claimed AI would end humanity, charged with attempted murder

 

[Gomos]

I heard he was actually following a chatGPT recipe for risotto.

 

[Watzupken]

"The document ends with a letter addressed to the OpenAI boss that reads: "If by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself…"

I read this and I cannot help but feel this sounds so rigged. Almost like someone paid him to write and do this so that Sammy can advertise AI with ""the fear and anxiety about AI is justified."

 

[NumberNine]

The problem with Altman's constant doomsaying is that some of the less mentally adept might actually believe him, so then stuff like this happens. I'd imagine fewer people throwing fire at his home if he'd arrived on the scene with a different attitude. Just saying...

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

"The document ends with a letter addressed to the OpenAI boss that reads: "If by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself…"

I read this and I cannot help but feel this sounds so rigged. Almost like someone paid him to write and do this so that Sammy can advertise AI with ""the fear and anxiety about AI is justified."

He looks so young, he was definitely influenced by others to carry this out. That guy looks like he's around 20 years old. I really doubt it was influenced by OpenAI though.

 

[pnntmp]

I don't think we need more evidence the guy was crazy, that's perfectly obvious from what he did.
It's irresponsible to make sensations out of acts of lunacy, as this may incite other lunatics.

The only thing that should be popularized in the media is Moreno-Gama's long prison sentence. This will hopefully prevent Moreno-Beta and Moreno-Alpha from committing mass murders.

 

[The Talking Tech]

Well that person is not wrong...Ai will end humanity, but taking the Sarah Connor route is not the answer, as A.I is already so deep rooted into technology that even killing anyone won't stop A.I in taking over in everything we do.

 

[spac18]

Screw Scam Altman

 

[Endymio]

I don't think we need more evidence the guy was crazy, that's perfectly obvious from what he did.

I'm fairly sure he was posting anti-AI missives here before he visited Altman. If we see any of the usual suspects mysteriously vanish, we'll know why.

 

[LimyG]

This unstable nut case probably developed such hatred of A.I. due to using W11 and it's forced Co-Pilot.

 

[acrossthestars]

Well that person is not wrong...Ai will end humanity, but taking the Sarah Connor route is not the answer, as A.I is already so deep rooted into technology that even killing anyone won't stop A.I in taking over in everything we do.

Untrue. It's been intentionally deeply embedded into most products. It didn't wind up there by accident, it was put there. Which means it can be removed, if only the right incentives are in place.

Unfortunately, there is still too much money to be made in pretending it has value. Thus, it shows up everywhere.

 

[acrossthestars]

I read this and I cannot help but feel this sounds so rigged. Almost like someone paid him to write and do this so that Sammy can advertise AI with ""the fear and anxiety about AI is justified."

So, let me get this straight: you're telling me that Sam Altman or some shell company he owns (so that this outcome isn't tied to him directly) paid this young man to "pretend" to crash out and firebomb―to throw Molotov cocktails―through his office windows? Knowing that this he was probably going to face felony capital murder and arson charges? Really? You think it's more plausible that this young man is a company plant, than that he was legitimately frustrated with them and decided to act on it his aggression? C'mon, man!

I have no doubt that these companys want this to happen to them, because it just feeds into the hysteria around their product and exponentiates their stock price, but that's a level of corporate d*ck-sucking I cannot even begin to grasp. Being the patsy for one of these companies sounds like the worst "Deal with the Devil" ever. Even common criminals have lines in the sand that they won't cross.

P.S. If it turns out that you are correct and this entire thing was a political stunt to "increase shareholder value", then we are even more screwed than I imagined...

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

AI is not going away and as some have said it's part of our evolution. Tons of pros and cons, it's not perfect but the way to find out is to get it out into the wild. Of course, a lot of collateral damage will happen.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Was this guy sent back in time naked too?

 

[Fimbulvetr]

So, in Altman's own words, "the fear and anxiety about AI is justified". So that means you'll stop, right Altman?... Altman?... Yeah, that's what I thought. You reap what you sow.

 

[scoffer]

I wish Sammy and his "husband" would pay me to disparage AI...........a few million would suffice.

 

[Endymio]

So, in Altman's own words, "the fear and anxiety about AI is justified". So that means you'll stop, right

Altman shutting down OpenAI is like Japan turning off their nuclear reactors, in the hopes it'll lead to a world without nuclear weapons.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Altman shutting down OpenAI is like Japan turning off their nuclear reactors, in the hopes it'll lead to a world without nuclear weapons.


Inciting violence and promoting domestic terrorism is a federal crime in the U

 

[Fimbulvetr]

@Endymio - Point taken. Perhaps my original comment regarding torches and pitchforks was ill-considered, I did not mean for it to be taken literally, nor do I think this was going to incite anyone to form an angry mob - do you? If they were forming in your community due to my comment, I apologize. Anyone reading my quoted comment above, drop the pitchfork. Extinguish your torch. Go home. OK? I do not advocate violence against anyone, and have modified my original comment to remove that. The point remains that Altman, and others like him, are affecting people's lives in terrible ways and actions have consequences to them. The fact that Altman acknowledges the anxiety and fear regarding AI is justified, but does not act meaningfully upon that reflection just means he knows what he's doing, but doesn't really care. You needn't look far to find families whose lives have been irrevocably devastated by Altman's actions, and it's just looking to get worse. To your comment on the the futility of Altman's stopping having any meaning at this point - sadly, you're probably correct.

 

[Endymio]

I did not mean for it to be taken literally, nor do I think this was going to incite anyone to form an angry mob - do you?

Public ignorance coupled with media gaslighting about the role of insurers in healthcare costs incited a man last year to publicly execute an insurance CEO and father of two.

A week ago, another man was so "inspired" by Mangione's brutal attack that he filmed himself setting fire to a warehouse in Ontario, causing some $650 million in damages ... costs that will be born by you and me, through higher insurance costs.

Domestic terrorism used to be rare in the US. Today it's become commonplace. I fear that trend far more than I do AI, and rightly so.

The point remains that Altman, and others like him, are affecting people's lives in terrible ways

This couldn't possibly be more wrong. AI is the most profoundly liberating advance since the industrial revolution freed the great bulk of the world's population from working 18-hour days in open fields, simply to scratch out enough sustenance to not starve to death.

Thanks to AI, I now have a world-class cardiologist monitoring my heart health 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even when I sleep, he doesn't. In a decade, even the poorest peasant in SE Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa will be getting a level of AI-based medical care far above what a middle class US citizen gets today. I call that progress. In 20 years, all the dangerous, dirty, unpleasant, or simply dog-dull boring jobs will be performed by AI-enhanced robots.

As for fears of mass unemployment, by 2050, most people will be employed in professions that don't even exist today. And even those who don't work will enjoy a standard of living far higher than the average person of today ... just as the 40% of Americans who today have chosen to opt out of the workforce live far better than an incessantly-laboring 18th century peasant.

PS: out of respect for your decision to edit your original post; I've also deleted my objection to it.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

OK, thank you for your well-considered reply. The points you make on AI's benefits have merit, but I do not feel they outweigh the bad. We may not agree on AI, we do agree that terrorism has no place! I respect your thoughtful response. Have a good one!

 

[Endymio]

OK, thank you for your well-considered reply. The points you make on AI's benefits have merit, but I do not feel they outweigh the bad. We may not agree on AI, we do agree that terrorism has no place! I respect your thoughtful response. Have a good one!

My thoughts on the fears of AI are best summed up by this, specifically with regards to the army China is building: