The former OpenAI engineer charged with planting a recording device inside a conference room at the AI giant's San Francisco office had a one-way flight booked to Saudi Arabia days before he was taken into federal custody, the Justice Department said.Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, had a flight booked for Oct.12 — days after his arrest — for himself, his wife, and another relative, according to court documents.Federal prosecutors cited his travel plans when asking a federal judge to seal the criminal complaint and arrest warrant against him, arguing that public knowledge of the case would prompt him to possibly flee the country.8 EVERYDAY THINGS THAT WOULD QUIT WORKING WITHOUT DATA CENTERSA man described as Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national formerly employed as an OpenAI engineer, looks behind a television where a recording device had been placed in a conference room in OpenAI offices, in a still image from surveillance video.
(Department of Justice/Handout via Reuters)"Disclosure of the specified documents might jeopardize the defendant's arrest," court documents state.In an Arabic podcast last month, Alfozan recalled meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his 2016 visit to Silicon Valley.Alfozan said he had been contemplating whether to return to his native country.In response, the prince advised young Saudis living and working in Silicon Valley to refine their skills at premier tech companies before bringing their expertise home, the New York Post reported.OpenAI offices are seen in San Francisco.
(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)"You learn from the source and then, God willing, bring that experience and knowledge back to the homeland," Alfozan reportedly said on the podcast.Alfozan was arrested Oct.9 and charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, according to the Department of Justice.OpenAI discovered the encrypted device Sept.
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