Hours after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at his San Francisco home, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman addressed the criticism surrounding artificial intelligence that appears to have been the impetus for the attack.

In a lengthy blog post, Altman shared a family photo of his husband and child, stating he hopes it might convince people not to repeat the attack despite their opinions on him.

The San Francisco Police Department arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with the Friday morning attack but did not publicly comment on the motivation. Altman and his company, the maker of ChatGPT, have been at the center of a heated debate about whether AI will change the world for better or worse.

"While we have that debate, we should de-escalate the rhetoric and tactics and try to have fewer explosions in fewer homes, figuratively and literally," Altman wrote.

The rise of AI chatbots that can generate text, images and code has raised concerns about whether there are enough guardrails around the development of the powerful technology.

From job displacement to the effects of AI on mental health and war, critics have been vocal about their fears. Families have also sued technology companies including OpenAI and Google, alleging in lawsuits that their chatbots contributed to the death of their loved ones. OpenAI has faced backlash after striking a deal with the Department of Defense shortly after its rival Anthropic raised AI safety concerns and lost its contract.

Politicians in California and other states have been passing new laws that target AI safety. And groups that aim to stop the development of AI have regularly protested outside OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters.

In the blog post, Altman acknowledged the fear and anxiety surrounding AI was "justified" because "we are in the process of witnessing the largest change to society in a long time, and perhaps ever." But he also said that people will do "incredible things" with AI and that "technological progress can make the future unbelievably good."

Altman has become a controversial figure as companies race to advance AI. In 2023, OpenAI's board of directors fired Altman, stating that he wasn't "consistently candid" in his communications with the board and that board members had lost confidence in his ability to lead the company. OpenAI's mission is to "ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity," the board said at the time. Facing pressure from its employees and investors, OpenAI reinstated Altman as chief executive less than a week after he was pushed out. A new board was put in place and members who supported ousting Altman left.

Altman said in the blog post that he has made mistakes and done things he's not proud of, describing himself as "conflict-averse."

"I am not proud of handling myself badly in a conflict with our previous board that led to a huge mess for the company," he wrote.

Since his return, OpenAI has expanded its presence in healthcare, retail, defense and other industries. But controversy has followed the company. OpenAI is currently in a legal battle with billionaire Elon Musk, who has accused the company of abandoning its nonprofit founding mission in a case that's expected to head to trial. Musk, a co-founder and early investor in OpenAI, alleges he was manipulated into funding what he thought was a nonprofit but turned into a "moneymaking endeavor." OpenAI alleges that Musk, who runs rival xAI, is suing to slow down a competitor.

Last week, the New Yorker published a lengthy story about Altman that posed the question about whether he could be trusted.

In his blog post, Altman referenced an "incendiary article" published about him but didn't name the publication, adding that "words have power." OpenAI didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. On the social media site X, Altman said he regretted using certain words in his blog after an editor from the AI newsletter Transformer pointed out that Altman implied that a critical piece of journalism was responsible for the attack.

Altman said the attack happened at 3:45 a.m. on Friday but the Molotov cocktail "bounced off the house and no one got hurt."

The San Francisco Police Department and OpenAI previously confirmed the attack on Friday. The suspect allegedly made threats to OpenAI's headquarters after the attack at Altman's home.

Several news outlets, including the San Francisco Chronicle, identified the suspect as Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama.

Moreno-Gama was booked on Friday on suspicion of making criminal threats, arson, attempted murder, possession of a destructive device and other charges. The Chronicle also cited a Substack that appeared to be from the suspect that includes posts titled "AI Existential Risk."

The Times asked the San Francisco Police Department on Saturday whether the account belonged to the suspect.

"At this time we have no further updates to provide," the department said in an e-mail.

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