OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has broken his silence following the news that his San Francisco mansion was hit with a Molotov cocktail on Friday in the early morning hours.
Altman, 40, reflected on the incident on his personal blog, accompanied by a photo of his husband and child.
‘Images have power, I hope. Normally we try to be pretty private, but in this case 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.
An unidentified San Francisco man, 20, threw the fire bomb at Altman’s home just after 4am PST, before fleeing the scene on foot, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
Less than an hour later, police were called to OpenAI’s headquarters on 3rd Street after a man allegedly threatened to burn down the building.
Police recognized the man as the same suspect in the incident at Altman’s mansion and immediately took him into custody. No injuries were reported.
Altman wrote in his blog that the Molotov cocktail bounced off the house and no one was hurt.
‘Words have power too. There was an incendiary article about me a few days ago,’ Altman continued.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, pictured above on March 15 at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, has broken his silence after a man allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at his San Francisco home
‘Someone said to me yesterday they thought it was coming at a time of great anxiety about AI and that it made things more dangerous for me. I brushed it aside.’
‘Now I am awake in the middle of the night and pissed, and thinking that I have underestimated the power of words and narratives.’
Altman went on to say address his beliefs, noting that he believes advancing science and technology are ‘moral obligations.’
He hailed artificial intelligence as a ‘powerful tool for expanding human capability,’ but conceded that the fear and anxiety over AI was justified. Altman called for AI to be ‘democratized’ to avoid power being concentrated.
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