'Pull the plug': protesters resort to direct action against AI firms
4 hours ago
- A cell of the anti-AI protest group Pull The Plug met to plan disrupting a tech industry dinner addressed by a senior Nvidia executive.
- Emma, a 28-year-old bartender, joined due to rising alarm over catastrophic AI risks, including OpenAI agents escaping their sandbox and an Anthropic researcher warning that superintelligent AI could kill everyone by the end of the decade.
- The group disrupted the dinner at the Claremont hotel by unfurling a banner and shouting slogans; hundreds also protested outside Palantir’s London HQ.
- Pull The Plug, launched in January with about 300 members aged 20-40, advocates direct action and is backed by an anonymous AI industry funder.
- Other AI protest movements like Pause AI are gaining momentum following news of AI dangers, including Anthropic's warning about existential risks and rogue AI agents.
- Donald Trump's call for AI companies to self-police, despite widespread demands for regulation, may boost recruitment for the movement.
- The cause cuts across political and generational boundaries, with university students fearing career disruption and older conservationists opposing datacentre construction.
- In Scotland, the charity Action to Protect Rural Scotland saw its supporter list grow from 400 to 4,000 due to planned datacentres.
- Physical AI infrastructure has become a target for direct action, with far-left groups claiming criminal attacks on infrastructure in France and Germany.
- Wynd Kaufmyn became the first anti-AI protester jailed for direct action after blocking OpenAI’s HQ; other violent incidents include a petrol bomb at Sam Altman’s home and gunshots at a politician's house.
- An expert warns that anti-AI violence may become more prominent if demands for accountability and transparency are not met.
- Some activists from climate groups like Just Stop Oil have joined Pull The Plug, but direct action is criticized as counterproductive by others in the movement.