Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national and former OpenAI engineer, is charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. Staff found the encrypted recorder around Sept. 30, concealed in toilet paper and plugged into a USB port behind a television in the company’s San Francisco offices, the complaint alleges. He was arrested Oct. 9 and next appears in federal court Monday in San Francisco. OpenAI fired him and says it has no indication he improperly accessed or took model weights, source code or customer data.
In a podcast interview uncovered by Pirate Wires, Alfozan said remarks by Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a 2016 Silicon Valley event inspired him to remain in American technology rather than return to Saudi Arabia. “You learn from the source, then bring that expertise and knowledge back home, God willing,” he said. The Justice Department’s release does not allege that he acted for a foreign government. The FBI investigation is ongoing.