In the early hours of Friday morning, an individual allegedly hurled a Molotov cocktail at the San Francisco residence of Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. The San Francisco Police Department reported that no injuries occurred, and authorities later apprehended a suspect at OpenAI’s headquarters, where he was making threats to set the building ablaze. While law enforcement has not publicly named the suspect, Altman linked the violent episode to the recent publication of what he termed an “incendiary article” about him. He revealed that someone had warned him the piece’s release, amid heightened anxieties over artificial intelligence, could escalate risks to his safety. “I brushed it aside,” Altman admitted. “Now I am awake in the middle of the night and pissed, and thinking that I have underestimated the power of words and narratives.”
The article in question is a deep-dive investigative profile from The New Yorker, authored by Ronan Farrow—a Pulitzer Prize winner for exposing sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein—and Andrew Marantz, known for his work on technology and politics. Farrow and Marantz conducted interviews with over 100 individuals familiar with Altman’s business dealings. Most depicted him as possessing “a relentless will to power that, even among industrialists who put their names on spaceships, sets him apart.” Mirroring critiques from other journalists who have profiled Altman, the reporters noted that numerous sources expressed doubts about his trustworthiness. One anonymous board member characterized him as combining “a strong desire to please people, to be liked in any given interaction” with “a sociopathic lack of concern for the consequences that may come from deceiving someone.”
Altman published a blog post on Friday evening to address both the attack and the profile. In it, he reflected on his career, stating he can identify “a lot of things I’m proud of and a bunch of mistakes.” Among his errors, he cited a propensity for “being conflict-averse,” which he said has “caused great pain for me and OpenAI.” He expressed regret over his conduct during a conflict with OpenAI’s previous board, an apparent reference to his brief ouster and swift reinstatement as CEO in 2023. “I am not proud of handling myself badly in a conflict with our previous board that led to a huge mess for the company,” Altman wrote. He acknowledged making “many other mistakes throughout the insane trajectory of OpenAI,” describing himself as “a flawed person in the center of an exceptionally complex situation, trying to get a little better each year, always working for the mission.” Altman added, “I am sorry to people I’ve hurt and wish I had learned more faster.”
He also commented on the intense rivalries within the AI industry, attributing them to a “‘ring of power’ dynamic” that “makes people do crazy things.” Altman clarified that he does not view artificial general intelligence itself as the ring, but rather “the totalizing philosophy of ‘being the one to control AGI.’” His proposed remedy is “to orient towards sharing the technology with people broadly, and for no one to have the ring.” In closing, Altman affirmed his openness to “good-faith criticism and debate,” while reiterating his conviction that “technological progress can make the future unbelievably good, for your family and mine.” He urged a reduction in hostile rhetoric and tactics, stating, “While we have that debate, we should de-escalate the rhetoric and tactics and try to have fewer explosions in fewer homes, figuratively and literally.”
