Ex-OpenAI Employee Who Planted Device Had Saudi Backing, Court Filing Shows
US prosecutors charged Alfozan last week with using an electronic device to secretly record conversations.
A former OpenAI engineer accused of placing a recording device in a meeting room used by company executives appears to have received significant support from the Saudi government, US prosecutors said in a court filing.
Federal prosecutors say the accused, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was in frequent contact with an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family. They also say a member of the Saudi military paid for a one-way plane ticket for Alfozan's wife and son to return to Saudi Arabia. These claims were made in a court document released late Sunday.
Prosecutors made these claims while asking a federal judge to keep Alfozan in US custody until his trial. They argued that he might flee. Alfozan is a Saudi citizen and is due to appear in federal court in San Francisco later on Monday.
The court filing describes strong links between Alfozan and the Saudi government. The case has drawn attention to the security risks surrounding sensitive AI research as companies and governments compete fiercely to gain an advantage in this powerful technology.
The Saudi government's media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US prosecutors charged Alfozan last week with using an electronic device to secretly record conversations. According to a criminal complaint, Alfozan connected a recording device to the back of a television in an executive meeting room at one of OpenAI's buildings in San Francisco.
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