Texas Man’s Transformation from AI Enthusiast to Attacker
Daniel Moreno-Gama, a 20-year-old from Texas, is in the spotlight after being accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home. Interestingly, reports indicate that Moreno-Gama previously had a very different view of artificial intelligence (AI), once finding it quite impressive. During his high school years, he appreciated ChatGPT for a rather surprising reason: it helped him cheat on schoolwork.
This revelation came to light in a recent podcast interview from the media startup Longview. Moreno-Gama spoke under the alias “Discord Dan,” but his true identity was disclosed after the incident.
From Fan to Critic
Moreno-Gama’s shift in perspective began when he encountered strong critiques of AI, notably by author Eliezer Yudkowsky. In a recent piece for Time magazine, Yudkowsky suggested that creating a highly intelligent AI could lead to catastrophic outcomes for humanity. Moreno-Gama reflected on this by saying, “At first, I hoped he was wrong. But over time, I realized that many of his concerns weren’t being addressed.”
As his anxieties grew, he took to online discussions, debating strangers and engaging friends and family about the potential dangers of AI. He even adopted the online name “Butlerian Jihadist,” a nod to a fictional struggle between humans and machines from the beloved science fiction novel, Dune. “I got a bit obsessive about it,” he admitted.
Activism and Eventually Violence
Prompted by his mother, Moreno-Gama turned his fears into action. In 2024, he joined PauseAI, a group advocating for a halt on developing powerful AI systems. He was an active participant on their Discord server and shared articles on Substack, expressing concerns about the future of humanity. PauseAI’s CEO, Maxime Fournes, noted that while Moreno-Gama had contributed dozens of messages to their server, none of them called for violence, and he condemned the recent attack.
Moreno-Gama also engaged in another online community named Stop AI, where he inquired whether discussing violence would lead to a ban. Upon being told it would, he ceased that line of conversation. Ironically, in the same podcast where he reflected on becoming ‘radicalized,’ he emphasized the importance of peaceful methods before resorting to violence. “We need to explore all our options for peaceful change, like protests and sharing ideas, before we even think about violence,” he stated.
Andy Mills, the editor-in-chief of Longview, explained that while the podcast initially intended to keep Moreno-Gama anonymous, his own actions and statements online revealed his true identity.
