Case"ChatGPT, I found a mic behind the TV": the OpenAI engineer charged with bugging a boardroom allegedly asked a chatbot for help

A video on the arrest of an OpenAI engineer accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room passed 46,000 views. Spanish-language developer YouTuber midudev (1.04 million subscribers) posted it Oct 23.

According to the Justice Department release reported by CPO Magazine on Oct 22, the engineer, at the company a little over two years, allegedly plugged a recorder behind a TV in a San Francisco boardroom used for sensitive discussions on Sept 28. OpenAI security found it two days later during a sweep, and a hidden camera caught him checking behind the TV on Oct 5. A second device turned up in his bag.

The detail that drew attention: he allegedly spent more than a week asking a chatbot, via his spouse's account, about choosing and hiding the device, an account the DOJ said shared "multiple identifiers and attributes" with his own. OpenAI said it has no indication model weights, source code or customer data were accessed. A comment joking that he got caught asking "ChatGPT, I found a microphone behind the TV, what do I do" drew 34 likes.