Student accused of trying to murder Sam Altman AI doomer | Latest Tech News
In January, podcaster Andy Mills interviewed an AI doomer who had advocated on Discord for killing tech execs. Still, when news broke last week that a 20-year-old had been arrested for making an attempt to murder OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Mills was shocked.
“When I saw that they had released the name of this guy,” Mills told The Post, “I was like, ‘Holy s–t. It’s Dan.’”
On Monday, Daniel Moreno-Gama was arrested for throwing a Molotov cocktail at Altman’s San Francisco home on April 10, then making an attempt to burn down OpenAI’s headquarters some 4 miles away. Investigators allege he was carrying an anti-AI manifesto that read, “If I am going to advocate for others to kill and commit crimes, then I must lead by example … .” The DOJ has charged him with tried murder and arson.
Daniel Moreno-Gama is accused of tried murder and arson in assaults on Sam Altman and OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters.
The interview, “Sam Altman’s Attacker, In His Own Words,” debuted Thursday.
Mills, host of the podcast “The Last Invention,” which explores different faculties of thought about artificial intelligence, discovered Moreno-Gama on a Discord channel, Pause AI, devoted to speaking about the hazards of AI.
Hiding behind the username Butlerian Jihadist — the title of a novel in the “Dune” collection by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson — the Spring, Texas, faculty scholar was anonymously flirting with utilizing violence against tech executives.
“Will speaking about violence get me banned?” he requested moderators.
“[I] reached out and said, ‘Hey, man, what did you have in mind when you talk about violence?’” Mills told The Post. “And he said, ‘How about Luigi-ing some tech CEOs?’” — a reference to Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
During the interview, when the host requested if the Lone Star College scholar actually thought violence against AI executives was a good concept, Moreno-Gama softened a bit.
Moreno-Gama beforehand made violent feedback about tech execs on Discord. Department of Justice
“I didn’t really mean that as a threat or anything,” Moreno-Gama said. “I think before we even think about violence, we need to exhaust all our peaceful means first. I think protesting, I think sharing information — I think that needs to come way before we even consider [violence].”
Mills pressed: “Do you think that if we continue to see the industry move in the direction it’s moving now, that by whatever means necessary, we have to stop the extinction of the human race?”
Moreno-Gama paused for a number of seconds before replying, “I’ll say no comment.”
“He seemed earnest and intelligent, and very informed,” Mills recalled. “He was incredibly well informed on the AI doomer position.”
Sam Altman’s home was pelted with a Molotov cocktail in an obvious assault. AP
In their dialog, Moreno-Gama distanced himself from calls to violence and instead advocated for insurance policies that would regulate the scale and quantity of data facilities.
“I don’t believe I’m a violent person,” Moreno-Gama said. “I would normally only advocate for violence as the absolute final, like, I don’t want to say final solution, but you know, the final … final … OK, you get what I’m saying.”
Moreno-Gama recalled first encountering AI as a high-schooler.
“When ChatGPT came out, at first I thought it was the greatest thing on Earth. I thought, this is awesome. I get to basically cheat on everything,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking about the repercussions that might have on learning at the time. I was just a sophomore [in high school].”
Investigators say that when Daniel Moreno-Gama was arrested for the tried murder of Sam Altman (above), he was carrying a manifesto that read: “If I am going to advocate for others to kill and commit crimes, then I must lead by example … .” REUTERS
But soon, he took to YouTube and encountered the warnings of people like Eliezer Yudkowsky — a researcher and writer who has said synthetic basic intelligence might threaten human life: “If anyone builds it, everyone dies.”
“If most people were as educated as me on this topic, if they knew the amount of information, the amount of statistics I knew, they would probably lean towards my position pretty heavily, I’m guessing,” Moreno-Gama told Mills. “Like, if there was a bridge where the engineer said there’s a 25% chance that it collapses, most people probably wouldn’t take that.”
He also admitted that he felt compelled to “do something to… get [AI doomerism] to be part of the public conscious a little bit more than it is currently.”
“[I] reached out and said, ‘Hey, man, what did you have in mind when you talk about violence?’” Mills told The Post of Daniel Moreno-Gama. “And he said, ‘How about Luigi-ing some tech CEOs?’” — a reference to Luigi Mangione (above), who is accused of murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. Steven Hirsch
Still, Mills walked away from the interview with no sense that Moreno-Gama would truly act on the fantasy of “Luigi-ing” CEOs.
“I’ve talked to violent offenders plenty of times in my career,” the host told The Post. “He did not strike me as someone on the edge of violence… People say s–t on the internet all the time, like, ‘F–k ICE, let’s kill them.’ But how many people would actually do it?”
But he did detect a need for notoriety.
“The guy was not only down to do [an interview], he was, like, pumped about it,” Mills recalled. “He was so eager to come on our podcast, he even followed up with us afterwards, being like, ‘When’s it gonna publish? When’s it gonna publish?’”
Daniel Moreno-Gama encountered the YouTube teachings of people like Eliezer Yudkowsky (pictured) — a researcher and writer who has said synthetic basic intelligence might threaten human life: “If anyone builds it, everyone dies.” Twitter / Eliezer Yudkowsky
He also believes Moreno-Gama carried a trace of martyrdom.
“I think that there’s elements in his behavior that resemble some of what we see out of school shooters — this sort of desire to ‘Make sure people know it was me and I was a warrior.’”
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