Protesters gather at OpenAI’s DevDay
The Verge Hayden Field
OpenAI’s DevDay started with protests outside the venue. Groups demanded “people over profit” and told OpenAI to drop an ICE contract.
Based on reporting by The Verge, Hayden Field — read the original for the full story.
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OpenAI’s annual DevDay did not get a quiet start on Tuesday. Before the event settled into its usual rhythm, protesters were already outside San Francisco’s Fort Mason with flyers, chants, and a circle march that put Sam Altman and OpenAI directly in the frame.
The message was blunt. One chant called on Altman to “put people over profit,” while signs behind the crowd spelled out the same point in oversized letters. Another large orange sign pushed a separate demand: “Drop the ICE contract.”
This was not a one-group drive-by, either. More than a dozen organizations helped sponsor the rally, including Bay Resistance, Tech Workers Coalition, Service Employees International Union, San Francisco Rising, and the San Francisco Labor Council. That gives the protest a different weight than a lone sidewalk demonstration.
There was also a touch of theater, because of course there was. People in cardboard robot costumes waved cardboard signs, which is a fairly direct way to tell an AI company that its own branding can be turned back on it. The scene set the tone before DevDay proper even had a chance to begin.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is the part of AI that executives hate most: the public has figured out these companies are political actors, not just clever software shops. Once a tech firm is big enough to host a flagship event in San Francisco, it also gets a picket line whether it likes it or not. The robots are optional; the backlash isn’t.
Read more about this at: The Verge
