Protecting AI technology from state-level actors is considered a high priority for the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has, for instance, floated the idea of sanctioning China over alleged distillation, a way of copying the functionality of AI models that requires minimal secrecy, let alone any sort of bugging of an OpenAI office.

Abdulrahman Alfozan is accused of concealing an audio recording device in an executive conference room at OpenAI.