Why it matters: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's home was attacked on two separate occasions over the weekend, according to reports. On Friday, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at his property. Two days later, a car stopped and fired a gun at his Russian Hill home.
A 20-year-old man was arrested over allegedly throwing the Molotov on Friday. The San Francisco Standard reports that he was booked into San Francisco County Jail on Friday afternoon on suspicion of attempted murder, arson, possession or manufacture of an incendiary device, and other charges.
According to a police report, the suspect threw a bottle containing a flaming rag at the metal gate of 855 Chestnut Street at around 3:40 am.
Security guards at the property extinguished the fire, and the incident was captured on surveillance cameras. The Molotov bounced off the wall and no injuries were reported.
The San Francisco Police Department said that the suspect was detained outside OpenAI's Third Street offices after allegedly threatening to burn down the building. Officers recognized the man as the same person who attacked Altman's home.
Altman responded to the incident 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.
The Standard reports that a second attack on Altman's home took place two days later on Sunday morning.
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.
It's fair to say that most of the public's reaction to AI has not matched the love and adoration expressed by CEOs. The number of layoffs caused by the technology continues to rise. The environmental impact of the data centers is enormous. Its use in surveillance, crime, and warfare is growing. And that's not even mentioning the amount of AI slop filling the web every day, or the fears of a rogue AI agent causing an existential threat.
Altman himself admitted in his post that "The fear and anxiety about AI is justified." He added that "we urgently need a society-wide response to be resilient to new threats."