A U.S. court document revealed today, Monday, that a former engineer at the artificial intelligence company "OpenAI" has been accused of planting a listening device in an executive meeting room at the company, on behalf of Saudi Arabia.
According to Reuters, the document included statements from prosecutors indicating that the accused, Abdulrahman Al-Fawzan (35 years old), was in regular contact with a member of the Saudi royal family whose identity has not been disclosed, and that a member of the Saudi military covered the cost of a one-way ticket for Al-Fawzan's wife and son to return to Saudi Arabia.
The prosecution presented these charges while requesting a federal judge to keep Al-Fawzan detained in the United States pending trial, warning that he might flee if released.
Al-Fawzan, who is a Saudi citizen, is scheduled to appear in a federal court in San Francisco later.
The lawsuit claims there are close ties between the Saudi government and Al-Fawzan. The case highlights the security challenges surrounding sensitive artificial intelligence research amid intense competition between companies and governments for a competitive edge in this technology.
The media office of the Saudi government has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Prosecutors in the U.S. charged Al-Fawzan last week with using an electronic device to intercept oral communications.
According to a criminal complaint, Al-Fawzan connected a recording device to the back of a television in an executive meeting room in one of OpenAI's buildings in San Francisco.