Ex-OpenAI worker accused of planting device had Saudi support says court filing

A Saudi national charged with secretly planting a recording device in one of OpenAI's meeting rooms has been accused of having "considerable support" from the Saudi government, according to a court filing, external in California.

US prosecutors claimed Abdulrahman Alfozan, who worked for the ChatGPT-maker, was in "frequent communication... with a member of the Saudi royal family", and said a member of the country's military paid for a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia for his wife and son after his arrest.

The 35-year-old engineer was deemed a flight risk and denied bail on Monday, pending a trial.

The Saudi government did not respond to BBC requests for comment.

Alfozan had worked at OpenAI for around a year before he allegedly made his attempt to plant an audio recorder.

The AI company discovered the device, which was plugged into the back of a TV in a conference meeting room and covered up with toilet paper, on 30 September.

A camera was placed in the room and on 5 October, Alfozan was filmed entering and appearing to look behind the television where the audio recorder had been inserted.

He was arrested by the FBI on 9 October and his contract with OpenAI was terminated.

Source: BBC News World RSS (Open Press / Full Text)