OpenAI locks down after alleged protester threat

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On Friday afternoon, OpenAI’s San Francisco office went from “startup buzz” to “corporate lockdown” after an internal Slack message warned employees about a possible security threat connected to someone previously involved with a Stop AI activist group.

According to the internal message, the individual had allegedly expressed interest in “causing physical harm to OpenAI employees” and had previously visited the company’s Mission Bay offices. 

Around 11 AM, San Francisco police received a 911 call about a man near 550 Terry Francois Boulevard, close to OpenAI’s office, who was reportedly making threats and planning to harm others. 

On the Citizen crime-tracking app, a police scanner recording alleged that the man may have bought weapons and intended to target additional OpenAI locations. 

Employees were told to stay inside, avoid wearing OpenAI-branded clothing, and even remove their badges when leaving the building, presumably so they wouldn’t accidentally self-identify as “staff character in a very stressful tech thriller.”

To help with identification, OpenAI’s internal comms team reportedly shared images of the suspected individual over Slack. 

Later, a senior member of the company’s global security team tried to calm nerves, writing that there was “no indication of active threat activity” but that the situation was still being assessed. 

The man mentioned in the alerts had earlier posted on social media that he was no longer associated with Stop AI. 

The group itself quickly distanced itself from him, issuing a statement to WIRED saying it’s “deeply committed to nonviolence.” 

Meanwhile, OpenAI and the San Francisco Police Department declined to comment at the time of reporting.

This isn’t the first time OpenAI and AI protestors have crossed paths. 

Over the past couple of years, various groups like Stop AI, No AGI, and Pause AI have held demonstrations outside AI company offices, warning that unchecked artificial intelligence could lead to mass unemployment or societal collapse.

In February, some protestors were even arrested for physically blocking the doors to OpenAI’s Mission Bay office.

Adding to the drama, StopAI recently claimed its public defender was the same person who jumped onstage to serve CEO Sam Altman with a subpoena during a public interview.

In a previous Pause AI statement, the individual allegedly involved in Friday’s incident had spoken about his fears of AI replacing human scientists and workers, saying that a future dominated by AI-driven discovery would make life “not worth living.” 

It’s a grim sentiment, and one that highlights just how heated, personal, and volatile the debate around AI has become.

For now, employees are safe, the offices are secure, and the situation appears to have de-escalated, but it’s a sharp reminder that the battle over the future of AI isn’t just playing out online. 

Sometimes, it literally shows up at the front door.