A 20-year-old man faces federal terrorism charges after throwing an incendiary device at the San Francisco home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday.
Police arrested Daniel Moreno-Gama, a resident of Spring, Texas, approximately one hour after the attack. Authorities say Moreno-Gama was found outside OpenAI’s headquarters attempting to smash glass doors with a chair and threatening to burn the building.
Investigators recovered a manifesto from the suspect warning of human extinction caused by artificial intelligence. The suspect also maintained a personal Substack expressing violent intent.
No injuries were reported during the attack on Altman's $27 million Pacific Heights property. However, two additional individuals were arrested Sunday following a shooting near Altman's Russian Hill residence.
Rising Gen Z hostility
Altman shared a photo of his family on X, calling for sanity following the incident. "I am sharing a photo in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house," Altman wrote.
Social media reactions on platforms like TikTok and Instagram show a divide between older commentators and younger users. While many professional pundits expressed concern, comments on trending posts frequently celebrated the violence.
Recent Gallup polling suggests deep-seated resentment toward AI among younger generations. While over half of U.S. Gen Z users utilize AI regularly, less than 20% report feeling hopeful about the technology.
Nearly half of Gen Z respondents say the technology makes them afraid, and one-third say it makes them angry. Gallup senior researcher Zach Hrynowski told Axios that the oldest members of Gen Z are particularly angry due to their awareness of how AI transforms job markets and cultural norms.
