Protesters target OpenAI and Anthropic in San Francisco over AI safety fears

Dozens of protesters marched through San Francisco on 17 September, calling on AI companies to “stop the AI race”. The demonstration began outside OpenAI’s headquarters in Mission Bay before moving to Anthropic’s offices at 500 Howard Street, next to the Dreamforce conference. The march ended at City Hall, where protesters urged Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors to declare a local AI state of emergency.

Organisers called for a pause in the development of increasingly powerful AI systems until stronger safeguards and international rules are in place. They also want a global treaty to limit the capabilities of advanced AI and enforce safety standards.

Protesters carried signs warning of uncontrolled AI and wrote messages including “Extinction is on the table” in chalk on the pavement. They also called on employees at OpenAI and Anthropic to leave their jobs and push for internationally agreed limits.

Stop the AI Race organiser Michaël Trazzi said industry leaders had previously asked the US government to regulate AI but had been rebuffed. Another organiser, Hunter Glenn, said he feared runaway AI could threaten human survival and argued that AI safety should be treated as a bipartisan issue.

The protest came amid renewed debate over AI safety after OpenAI disclosed six cases of “unexpected or concerning” model behaviour. Participants also raised concerns about the growing energy consumption of data centres and the technology’s potential climate impact.

The march took place as Dreamforce brought around 43,000 people to San Francisco, with OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang among the speakers. Along the route, protesters also passed a Waymo self-driving vehicle, highlighting the growing presence of AI in everyday life.