Sam Altman gets an unexpected visit from the court during live event

During a public conversation with basketball coach Steve Kerr at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was unexpectedly approached by someone trying to deliver an official subpoena to him.

The incident took place in front of a stunned audience and was captured on video, which has since circulated on social media.

The man, wearing a cap and backpack, walked purposefully towards the stage and said he had “a subpoena for Sam Altman”.

He was quickly met by security and boos from the audience, and was led away without Altman being handed the document.

The document was instead given to another person on stage.

The moderator of the conversation, Manny Yekutiel, commented on the situation saying:

– This starts off dramatically, causing the audience to react with both surprise and laughter.

https://twitter.com/tombibbys/status/1986544751424729248

Altman himself remained silent and clearly surprised for a few moments after the episode.

Official confirmation: The subpoena was real

Later, San Francisco’s public defender’s office confirmed that it was one of their investigators who tried to serve the subpoena.

According to the public defender’s office, Sam Altman has been identified as a potential witness in a pending criminal case.

The office stated that it had previously attempted to deliver the subpoena to Altman via OpenAI headquarters and the company’s online portal, but without success.

The public subpoena on stage must therefore have been an attempt to secure legal proof that Altman received notice of his summons.

Background: AI activism trial

The case Altman is now expected to testify in relates to activists from the group Stop AI.

The group has organized protests in the past, including attempts to block access to OpenAI’s offices.

The activists question artificial intelligence and believe the technology could pose an existential threat to humanity.

According to a statement from the group, they see the upcoming trial as a historic event where “ordinary people will for the first time have to decide on the question of AI’s potential threat to the survival of humanity”.

Although Altman did not receive the subpoena directly on stage, according to the authorities, he is now required to appear in court for the case.