communication
Ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting device has Saudi backing: Prosecutor
An ex-OpenAI engineer accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the AI company appears to have received considerable support from the Saudi government, United States prosecutors have said in a court filing. Federal prosecutors allege that the defendant, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was in frequent communication with an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family and that a Saudi military official paid for a one-way plane ticket for Alfozan's wife and young son to return to Saudi Arabia after his arrest, according to the court document, made public late on Sunday. Alfozan, a Saudi national and lawful permanent resident in the US, is scheduled to appear in federal court in San Francisco later on Monday. The case has highlighted security challenges around sensitive AI research as companies and governments compete fiercely for an edge in the transformational technology. "The defendant went to significant lengths to create customized, encrypted recording devices to secretly record highly sensitive meetings involving senior OpenAI personnel and executives, high-level business counterparts, and government officials, all while communicating with individuals of significance in Saudi Arabia and pursuing opportunities in -- and making plans to travel to -- Saudi Arabia," prosecutors wrote in a detention memo.
Saudi national charged with planting a listening device at OpenAI offices
United States federal agents have arrested a Saudi national and charged him with planting a hidden audio recording device in a conference room at the California offices of OpenAI, where he was working as an engineer. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, had been working at the AI company since July 2025, the US Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday. Following the discovery, the company placed a camera in the room, which captured Alfozan entering last week and checking behind the television where the listening device had been installed, the FBI alleges. The case highlights growing security concerns around sensitive AI research as companies and governments compete for the best talent and technology with the potential to alter regional economic and strategic dynamics. Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan and what is he charged with?
An OpenAI Employee Allegedly Used a Chatbot to Help Plant a Recording Device at the Office
Chatbot prompts reveal the engineer's alleged efforts to set up a covert listening device days before one was found in a meeting room used by high-level executives. An engineer at OpenAI allegedly concealed an audio recording device in a piece of toilet paper and attached it behind a monitor inside an executive conference room at one of the company's San Francisco offices, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday. Abdulrahman Alfozan, who federal prosecutors describe as a 35-year-old Saudi Arabian national and US permanent resident, allegedly spent several weeks querying an unspecified "productivity agent" and an "AI chatbot" to plan his alleged surveillance operation. He used an internal OpenAI tool to ask about meetings scheduled in the targeted conference room. He also appears to have used a chatbot account associated with his spouse to ask various technical questions about setting up a covert audio recording device, according to prosecutors and the court filing.
Dunking on Dating App Profiles Is Content Gold. People Are Getting Sick of It
Dunking on Dating App Profiles Is Content Gold. Evangelizing to his 512,000 TikTok followers occasionally requires that dating coach Chad Franklin post the private communications of his clients, who pay upwards of $5,000 for his services. In September, Franklin shared a DM conversation in which a woman implied she couldn't afford an Uber with the text overlay "Don't date POOR women!!!" That same month, he uploaded a video of a client's successful text exchange on Hinge where they talked about the need to "flirt over some margaritas." In the clip, Franklin can barely contain himself, noting that it was the type of tête-à-tête that gets his "dick hard": "This is what men are looking for. Franklin posts under the alias @DefundSimping, and has made it his mission to help straight, career-driven guys in their "post-breakup, post-divorce" era undo their "simp" behavior, which he defines as putting women on a pedestal or giving them too much attention. I reached out to the 30-year-old ...
Fired OpenAI safety researchers dispute their dismissals in open letter
Three OpenAI safety researchers have posted an open letter to OpenAI disputing their dismissals. Jasmine Wang, Mikita Balesni and Tomek Korbak wrote that the "very public manner" of the company's communications around the firings could have a "chilling" effect on employees at a time when "the world's safety depends on them." Last week, OpenAI dismissed three employees who allegedly shared information with an external AI safety organization. The company said in a statement that the employees "violat[ed] our policies on accessing and handling sensitive company information... breaking the trust essential to our work." In the face of recent serious and potentially illegal OpenAI agent hacks of Hugging Face and other organizations, though, the firing of safety employees raised awkward questions and caught the attention of lawmakers.
Hurricane Isaias threatens Georgia vs. Alabama SEC showdown as Trump plans Tuscaloosa visit
Tyreek Hill's NFL return seemed imminent and then his divorce trial began with domestic abuse allegations Coyotes choose the front of a couple's Southern California cabin for an early morning scrap Dan Dakich calls Deion Sanders' Colorado program a'Trojan horse': 'This is a s-- show' Washington trans athlete's school district responds to alleged assault victim's SCOTUS injunction request NFL refs have set all-time record for flags this season, and it's changing the outcome of games Loyalty be damned: Did these coaches stick around a season too long and blow their chances at a big gig? Patriots receiver's girlfriend celebrates his game-winning touchdown by peeing her pants LeBron James' deal with Fanatics gives him a unique way to handle his new East Coast commute Sophie Cunningham must leave Fever'circus' so team can focus on basketball, The Athletic columnist says Questions mount over whether lawmakers who don't use AI should regulate it Laura: Hand the reigns to the Democrats, and expect the same results we're seeing in France John Kiriakou explains his unlikely popularity with Gen Z: 'I'm telling them the truth' Ex-CIA officer John Kiriakou: 'Donald Trump is the only person' who can give my life back John Kiriakou warns US is'not prepared' for AI threats: 'The new frontier' Jesse Watters: Obama doesn't have the'golden touch' Infection expert warns of'future lab outbreaks' after suspected plague death in Russia OutKick Hurricane Isaias threatens Georgia vs. Alabama SEC showdown as Trump plans Tuscaloosa visit WATCH LIVE: Trump speaks with reporters following high-profile college football trip. President Trump speaks with reporters after returning from the Tennessee-Texas college SEC football game. BIRMINGHAM, AL - We are on the cusp of seeing the first named hurricane of the 2026 season, and it comes at a busy time on the calendar, especially with Georgia scheduled to face Alabama in a college football game on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Right now, meteorologists around the south are waiting on information to come in from the National Hurricane Service on what the potential impact location will be when'Isaias' comes ashore somewhere along the Alabama, Florida or Mississippi panhandle in the coming days.
Using AI to 'talk to animals' might make us feel clever – but what, if anything, does it do for them?
Using AI to'talk to animals' might make us feel clever - but what, if anything, does it do for them? The motor is off, the turquoise sea is glassy, and Stephanie King and I are motionless, transfixed by the whistles, clicks and squeezy, whirring noises made by the dolphins swimming below us. If anyone could tell me what these big-brained social mammals are saying, it would be her. Based at the University of Bristol, she co-leads Shark Bay Dolphin Research, one of the longest-running wild dolphin research projects in the world. She has spent thousands of hours watching and listening to this population.