\n One X user compared the attacker to Luigi Mangione<\/a>, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a politically motivated attack,<\/a> in a post calling the two men \u201cheroes.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Multiple users on X called the attack \u201cjustified.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf this relentless push for AI and the completely (sic) commoditization of what it means to be human is allowed to continue, this sort of episode will be much more common,\u201d one user posted in an anti-AI Reddit group.\n <\/p>\n \n Worries that AI could take human jobs,<\/a> upend the economy, harm the environment<\/a> and even pose an existential threat to humanity<\/a> have grown as the technology advances rapidly. Even tech executives have issued stark warnings<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n But recent attacks represent a fringe of the AI opposition movement that\u2019s now moved from anonymous online comments to dangerous, in-person action, prompting debate in Silicon Valley about how to respond.\n <\/p>\n \n Three days before the attack on Altman\u2019s home, shots were reportedly fired<\/a> into the home of Indianapolis councilman Ron Gibson in the middle of the night and a \u201cno data centers\u201d note was left at his door, after a data center was approved in his district.\n <\/p>\n \n In recent years, there have also been reports of vandalism and attacks on robotaxis<\/a> and delivery robots<\/a>, which some see as harbingers of a high-tech future not everyone asked for.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201c(AI) is such a massive, looming issue that people, frankly, don\u2019t understand and are just diffusely afraid of,\u201d said Doug McAdam, a sociology professor at Stanford University who studies political and social movements. He added that it\u2019s \u201cnot unusual\u201d for such movements to \u201cproduce a radical flank.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cTo ensure society gets AI right, we need to work through the democratic process and a robust debating of ideas is an important part of a healthy democracy,\u201d OpenAI said in a statement following the attack. \u201cHowever, there is no place in our democracy for violence against anyone, regardless of the AI lab they work at or side of the debate they belong to. We are grateful to law enforcement for their quick response and that no one was hurt.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Daniel Moreno-Gama, who is currently being held without bail, spent time prior to the attack in online spaces dedicated to discussing AI risks.\n <\/p>\n \n In an online exchange with the hosts of the AI podcast \u201cThe Last Invention,\u201d Moreno-Gama discussed<\/a> \u201cLuigi-ing tech CEOs,\u201d referring to the accused killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.\n <\/p>\n \n Moreno-Gama also posted in a Discord server for PauseAI \u2014 an organization advocating for pausing advanced AI development so safety measures can catch up \u2014 in the weeks preceding the attack, the group confirmed. PauseAI disavowed<\/a> the attack and said Moreno-Gama was not a formal member; the Discord server is open for anyone to join.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe exist to give people a peaceful, democratic path to act on concerns about AI, and so this attack is the opposite of everything we stand for,\u201d PauseAI CEO Maxime Fournes told CNN.\n <\/p>\n \n Stop AI, a separate group pushing to stop advanced AI development, said Tuesday that Moreno-Gama asked on its online forum earlier this year: \u201cWill speaking about violence get me banned?\u201d The group says he stopped posting after being told yes.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cStop AI has always adhered to nonviolent activism. The current leadership of Stop AI is deeply committed to non-violence in both actions and statements,\u201d Stop AI said in a post<\/a> on X, before adding that its co-founders were removed from the group after making \u201cprovocative statements regarding violence\u201d last year.\n <\/p>\n \n During the attack, Moreno-Gama carried a document in which he discussed \u201cthe purported risk AI poses to humanity,\u201d wrote about killing Altman and listed \u201cthe names and addresses of apparent board members and CEOs of AI companies and investors,\u201d according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI.\n <\/p>\n \n Moreno-Gama\u2019s attorney, San Francisco public defender Diamond Ward, said in court this week that he was in the midst of a mental health crisis during the incident. Ward said her client had been overcharged for a \u201cproperty crime, at best,\u201d according to the Associated Press<\/a>. Moreno-Gama\u2019s parents said in a statement that he recently began experiencing mental health issues and has never harmed anyone, adding that they are concerned for his well-being, the AP reported.\n <\/p>\n \n Some in the AI industry were already fearful. OpenAI, for example, has long encouraged employees to remove their badges before leaving the office.\n <\/p>\n \n Fournes said he worries there could be more violent outbursts \u2014 and that such attacks could paint the complex and diverse, but overwhelmingly peaceful, AI safety movement in a negative light.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cOur response to this is going to be to double down on what we\u2019ve always done \u2014 peaceful, lawful advocacy,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s very important that movements like ours, which are entirely peaceful, stay on top of what\u2019s happening because there could be much darker movements that start rising.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n History shows radical outbursts can create greater credibility for more moderate wings of social movements, McAdam said.\n <\/p>\n \n AI companies \u201care going to really have to think seriously about how they\u2019re going to respond,\u201d McAdam said. \u201cThe movement, as a whole, is gaining visibility and leverage, even as this radical fringe is criticized.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n That debate is already beginning.\n <\/p>\n \n OpenAI Global Policy Chief Chris Lehane said some critiques of AI are \u201cnot necessarily responsible,\u201d in a Tuesday interview<\/a> with the San Francisco Standard. \u201cWhen you put some of those thoughts and ideas out there, they do have consequences,\u201d he said, adding that the company must make clear that AI \u201cis going to be really good for them, for their families and for society writ large.\u201d\n <\/p>\n![\"OpenAI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gettyimages-2213399036.jpg\")
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