FBI arrests Saudi OpenAI employee accused of bugging office

The FBI arrested Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national and former OpenAI engineer, who allegedly planted a recording device inside the artificial intelligence company’s San Francisco office late last month. Friday’s arrest, which was revealed by OpenAI and the Justice Department on Tuesday, is particularly concerning to the administration as it pursues global AI dominance. While analysts typically focus on China’s competition with the U.S. in the AI race, Saudi Arabia is emerging as a competitor. It appears the Saudi national may have been acting on behalf of his nation’s government to spy on OpenAI. No motive has been revealed, but the administration says the arrest is a national security matter.