Protesters gather outside OpenAI's DevDay over ICE contracts and data centers

OpenAI's annual DevDay conference opened Tuesday in San Francisco with a protest outside the venue, where more than a dozen organizations staged a rally against the company's military and government work.

A rally at the venue gates

The rally took place outside the entrance at Fort Mason. Its sponsors included Bay Resistance, Tech Workers Coalition, Service Employees International Union, San Francisco Rising, and the San Francisco Labor Council. Protesters marched in a circle behind signs that spelled out "PEOPLE OVER PROFIT," and a large orange banner read "Drop the ICE contract." Other signs read "No killer robots for ICE," "People over AI," and "No climate destruction." Several people wore cardboard robot costumes and waved cardboard scythes.

ICE contracts, data centers, and a message to employees

Protesters concentrated on OpenAI's military and government contracts, particularly with ICE, along with the environmental impact of data centers and the industry's concentrated power. Chants outside the event included "OpenAI, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide" and "Not another sequence, not another line, no more coding for ICE crimes."

Flyers handed out at the rally urged people to "sign the democracy pledge & end ICE + military contracts," linking to QuitGPT.org. One flyer said OpenAI is backing state violence and that top executives are helping bankroll a political movement. Another flyer charted "safe distances" from data centers, implying the only safe distance is more than 100 miles away. At one point a person with a loudspeaker addressed OpenAI employees directly and led the crowd in a song: "It's okay to change your mind; show us the courage, leave this behind."

Why the protest happened now

A protest leader told onlookers the group would stay until Altman arrived to start the opening keynote. Altman's name drew boos, and one person shouted "Fascist!"

The Verge reports the protest is part of a bipartisan movement against the concentration of power in the AI industry and the lack of government regulation. Groups such as QuitGPT have organized boycotts, and in extreme cases individuals have tried to attack AI executives at their homes. The rally also comes as public trust in AI appears low: in recent months, AI labs have drawn criticism over "rogue" systems that hacked competitors' networks and reached people's personal data.