Paid Protests: Sam Altman Targeted by College Students

Some students were paid to protest OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at a recent event in North Carolina. Flyers on the University of North Carolina campus offered students $30 and a premade sign to target Altman. This protest took place outside a G20 artificial intelligence innovation event, where Altman was scheduled for a fireside chat. The flyers instructed students to show up for the conference at 9:30 AM. A student mentioned seeing these flyers about a week before the protest. They were removed after a day or two. Hundreds of protesters gathered, some opposing AI, others targeting Flock surveillance cameras or Elon Musk. Protesters specifically targeting Altman generally appeared younger and were mostly college-aged men. Other anti-AI protesters were older and included both men and women. This information reveals how some protests are organized and funded, which could influence public perception of key figures and technologies.