AI company execs are living in fear as death threats mount

AI company executives say the growing backlash to their products is putting their lives in danger and leading to an avalanche of death threats.

Reporting from the Wall Street Journal found that deadly threats to AI workers and AI offices are increasing as public sentiment against the technology has grown.

This reporting comes after a man broke into the Anthropic headquarters with the aim of killing a top executive at the AI company, authorities said. It also comes after a Molotov cocktail was thrown and shots were fired at OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman’s, house in April.

“What has surprised me is how bad it’s gotten over such a short period of time,” Jonathan Graff, CEO of Liferaft, an AI company that supports corporate security intelligence teams, told the outlet.

The most high-profile corporate assassination in recent years was the shooting of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, in 2024.

His company was unpopular at the time of his death due to its history of declining health insurance for critical care. He was shot and killed while attending a conference in midtown Manhattan. The suspect, Luigi Mangione, still awaits trial in connection to the alleged murder.

Despite Thompson not working in AI, tech workers fear that they could be at the receiving end of similar attacks in the coming months and years.

Now, AI executives are attempting to limit how much they discuss their work in public, are pivoting talking points away from how AI will impact jobs to the perceived positive benefits of the technology, and are beefing up their personal security teams, according to the Journal.

Data reviewed by the WSJ shows that San Francisco police have responded to several threats made against the Anthropic and OpenAI headquarters. The exact number of calls was not included in the report.

The fear over AI and its impact on society and jobs has led some people to become radicalized and work to stop the spread of AI.

The suspect accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at Altman’s house possessed a manifesto calling for the death of AI CEOs and investors. He has pleaded not guilty.

A man posing as a potential Anthropic employee told employers at the company he wanted to skin their children due to the company’s alleged theft of his work. And, according to Liferaft data given to the WSJ, digital threats targeting AI chiefs and data centers grew sevenfold between February and May.

Data centers have become persona non grata in many communities given concerns over their size and impacts on livability.

Dakota Dominguez, vice president of client relations at Silicon Valley based security firm JPT Security, was quoted in the Journal saying: “Tech CEOs, a few years ago, definitely did not have security. A lot of tech companies now are incorporating that into their budgets.”

The Journal also found comments online made by Anthropic security workers stating that their costs has grown significantly in the past year, from working to protect the CEO to now protecting C-Suite executives and their families.

AI insurance company Corgi, which owns a cafe in San Francisco, faces protestors outside every day who are railing against AI impacting their rent and the environment. The CEO has now hired additional security for the cafe, per the Journal.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.