OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Condemns ICE Violence, Joining Growing Chorus of Tech Leaders
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman has joined a growing number of Silicon Valley leaders expressing outrage over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, aligning with tech industry workers who have urged CEOs to take a stronger stand against the violent immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. In a note shared with all employees, Altman stated, “What’s happening with ICE is going too far. There is a big difference between deporting violent criminals and what’s happening now, and we need to get the distinction right.”
Tech Leaders Speak Out Against ICE Violence
Altman’s remarks come as other tech leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Reddit Inc. co-founder Alexis Ohanian, former Meta Platforms Inc. AI chief scientist Yann LeCun, and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, have also spoken out against the violence in Minnesota. LeCun, based in Paris, linked to video footage of Pretti’s death, calling the perpetrators “murderers.” Ohanian wrote, “ICE shot a man in the back while he was restrained. We need our leaders to lead right now — deescalate.” Khosla decried “Macho ICE vigilantes running amuck empowered by a conscience-less administration.”
Amodei pointed to a recently published essay on artificial intelligence, highlighting the importance of preserving democratic values and rights at home. The tech executives have joined a wider group of hundreds of engineers and other technology workers who have signed an open letter at ICEout.tech, condemning the violence in Minnesota and calling for industry leaders to “join us in demanding ICE out of all of our cities.”
Silence from Major Tech CEOs
Despite the growing outcry, executives from America’s largest tech companies, including Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Alphabet Inc.’s Sundar Pichai, have remained largely silent. Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff posted a message calling for “Peace to All” on Monday, but did not directly address the administration’s actions. The absence of public statements from major tech CEOs has been notable, with some industry insiders criticizing the lack of visible pushback.
However, some tech executives have been more vocal, including Jeff Dean, chief scientist at Google’s DeepMind, who wrote, “Every person regardless of political affiliation should be denouncing this.” An OpenAI robotics staffer posted about US constitutional rights, and Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah spoke out against the violence, saying, “recent events — a federal agent killing an ICU nurse for seemingly no reason and with no provocation – shock the conscience.”
Call to Action
The open letter from tech workers urges tech companies to call the White House, cancel contracts with immigration enforcement, and speak out publicly against violence. As the tech industry continues to grapple with its role in shaping public policy, leaders like Altman and others are being called upon to use their influence to promote positive change. For more information, read the full story Here
Image Source: www.latimes.com
