Daniel Moreno-Gama was arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. A few months ago, he threatened in an online chat that he would "imitate Luigi and punish several technology company CEOs."
Screenshots of the chat show that the college student from Texas, USA, casually mentioned Luigi Mangione, who was accused of murdering the CEO of UnitedHealth Insurance, in an online conversation with the producer of the podcast "The Last Invention." The program team originally planned to invite him to participate in an interview in a series on artificial intelligence.
In January this year, Moreno-Gama recorded this interview, describing in detail his journey from a curious Internet enthusiast to an activist persistently wary of the risks of artificial intelligence. According to the recording, he said at the time that the chilling remarks should not be taken seriously.
"I can understand that some people would be angry about this, but it's not realistic," Moreno-Gama said. "It's just not worth it."
Last week, officials alleged that Moreno-Gama, 20, traveled from the Houston area to San Francisco, threw Molotov cocktails at Sam Altman's mansion, and then attacked the gate of OpenAI's headquarters in an attempt to set the building on fire.
The incident highlighted the anti-corporate fervor that is growing in some online subcultures in the United States, a sentiment amplified by the national attention the case of Mangione, a 27-year-old Ivy League graduate who has pleaded not guilty, received in the United States. Just weeks ago, 29-year-old Chamel Abdulkarim was charged with setting a fire at a Kimberly-Clark warehouse in Southern California. Federal prosecutors said he complained about pay and compared himself to Mangione.
"A lot of people are going to understand me," Abdulkarim said, comparing his actions to "Luigi taking on that bastard," according to the federal indictment. Abdulkarim has also pleaded not guilty.
copycat crime concerns
In the case of the OpenAI attack, investigators seized a manifesto purportedly belonging to Moreno-Gama, which warned that artificial intelligence would exterminate the human race. There is also a message for Ultraman in the document: "If you are lucky enough to survive, then I will regard it as God's will and give you a chance to atone for your sins..."
Moreno-Gama faces multiple federal and state charges, including attempted murder and arson, and has yet to enter a plea. His public defender in the state case, Diamond Ward, said prosecutors were overreaching and called the incident "at best a property crime."
"It is unfair and unjust for the San Francisco District Attorney and the federal government to spread panic and exploit this young man's vulnerable situation simply because of the high profile of the subject involved," Ward said.
Ward said Moreno-Gama has autism and mental health issues and his behavior was "clearly triggered by an acute mental health crisis rather than an intentional act of harm."
Moreno-Gama's parents said they had been trying to seek psychiatric treatment for him and were deeply concerned about his health. "He was a caring man with no previous arrest record," the family said in a statement. "Until recently, he was working hard at a restaurant while attending college classes."
After the attack, Altman posted a rare photo of his family on his blog last week, saying he hoped it would "dissuade the next person who tries to throw a Molotov cocktail at our home, regardless of how they feel about me."
Ultraman said in a statement that he is also concerned about the development of artificial intelligence, but this must not be an excuse for violence. “We should moderate radical rhetoric and extreme methods,” he wrote.