OpenAI Locks Down San Francisco Offices Following Alleged Threat From Activist

"OpenAI employees in San Francisco were told to stay inside the office on Friday afternoon after the company purportedly received a threat from an individual who was previously associated with the Stop AI activist group. "Our information indicates that [name] from StopAI has expressed interest in causing physical harm to OpenAI employees," a member of the internal communications team wrote on Slack. "He has previously been on site at our San Francisco facilities.""

"Just before 11 am, San Francisco police received a 911 call about a man allegedly making threats and intending to harm others at 550 Terry Francois Boulevard, which is near OpenAI's offices in the Mission Bay neighborhood, according to data tracked by the crime app Citizen. A police scanner recording archived on the app describes the suspect by name and alleges he may have purchased weapons with the intention of targeting additional OpenAI locations."

"On Slack, the internal communications team provided three images of the man suspected of making the threat. Later, a high-ranking member of the global security team said "At this time, there is no indication of active threat activity, the situation remains ongoing and we're taking measured precautions as the assessment continues." Employees were told to remove their badges when exiting the building and to avoid wearing clothing items with the OpenAI logo."

OpenAI employees in San Francisco were instructed to stay inside Friday afternoon after the company purportedly received a threat from an individual previously associated with Stop AI. Internal Slack messages said the named individual had expressed interest in causing physical harm and had been on site at San Francisco facilities. San Francisco police received a 911 call just before 11 am about a man allegedly making threats at 550 Terry Francois Boulevard; a police scanner archived on the Citizen app named the suspect and alleged possible weapon purchases intended to target additional OpenAI locations. Employees were sent photos, told to remove badges when exiting, and advised not to wear OpenAI-branded clothing while global security said the situation remained ongoing and precautions were being taken. Protesters affiliated with Stop AI, No AGI, and Pause AI have demonstrated outside AI company offices in recent years.

Read at WIRED