{"slug": "regain-your-humanity-first-person-jailed-for-anti-ai-protest-says-she-s-sounding", "title": "'Regain Your Humanity': First Person Jailed for Anti-AI Protest Says She's 'Sounding the Alarm' on AI CEOs", "summary": "Wynd Kaufmyn, a 69-year-old retired teacher from Berkeley, California, became the first person jailed for an anti-AI protest, beginning a seven-day sentence on August 14 after being convicted for chaining shut the doors of OpenAI's San Francisco office. Kaufmyn, a member of StopAI, said she accepted imprisonment to 'sound the alarm' about the dangers of advanced AI, urging CEOs at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta to 'regain your humanity.' Her case has drawn support from AI safety researcher Stuart Russell, who testified in her defense, and coincides with warnings from over 1,000 researchers about AI risks.", "body_md": "# 'Regain Your Humanity': First Person Jailed for Anti-AI Protest Says She's 'Sounding the Alarm' on AI CEOs\n\n## Wynd Kaufmyn's seven-day jail sentence follows a protest at OpenAI as concerns grow over the safety and future risks of advanced AI\n\n[Wynd Kaufmyn](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/retired-teacher-jailed-anti-ai-protest-openai-1814518), a 69-year-old retired teacher from Berkeley, California, is believed to be the first person jailed for an anti-AI protest. Before beginning her seven-day jail term on Friday, August 14, Kaufmyn said she was willing to face prison to 'sound the alarm' over what she believes are the dangers of artificial intelligence.\n\nKaufmyn and other members of StopAI chained and locked the doors of OpenAI's offices, refusing to leave even after police told them they could continue protesting from the public pavement.\n\nKaufmyn pleaded not guilty and argued that her actions were necessary because she believed the rapid pursuit of advanced AI could ultimately cause catastrophic harm. A jury rejected that argument and found her guilty in June. The San Francisco District Attorney's Office said the conviction covered interfering with a business, trespassing with intent to interfere with a business, unlawful assembly and refusal to disperse at a riot.\n\n## Anti-AI Protester Says She Was 'Sounding the Alarm'\n\nThe original protest took place on February 22, 2025, outside OpenAI's headquarters on Third Street in San Francisco. According to prosecutors, the activists placed a chain across the front door, secured it with a large padlock and sat in front of the entrance.\n\nPolice arrived after [OpenA](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/elon-musk-openai-lawsuit-dismissal-appeal-1797634)I called 911. Officers told the demonstrators they could continue their protest if they moved a short distance to the public sidewalk. Kaufmyn and other protesters refused, and the chain was eventually cut from the door.\n\nKaufmyn has never presented the action as an ordinary demonstration. Before entering jail, she said she was willing to accept imprisonment because she wanted to 'sound the alarm' about what she considers the dangers of the race towards superintelligent AI.\n\n'It's absolutely frightening and appalling that these CEOs and AI experts know the dangers and they are pursuing it anyway,' she said.\n\nHer message for the leaders of OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta was blunt: 'Regain your humanity.'\n\nShe has also called for a global ban on the race to superintelligence.\n\nThat position has found some support among prominent AI safety researchers, although that does not mean they endorse the tactics used at OpenAI. Stuart Russell, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, testified for Kaufmyn's defence and argued that continued development of increasingly capable AI should be subject to rigorous safety guarantees.\n\nRussell said Kaufmyn 'stood up for her beliefs and is being punished', while arguing that allowing private companies to continue developing systems that could create substantial risks for private gain was the more unreasonable course.\n\n## Case Puts AI Safety Back In The Spotlight\n\nThe timing of Kaufmyn's imprisonment coincided with concerns about increasingly capable AI systems have been raised by researchers, politicians and technology figures. The Guardian reported that more than 1,000 researchers at frontier AI laboratories signed a letter warning of a 'real risk' that AI capabilities could accelerate beyond humanity's ability to understand or control them.\n\n[US Senator Bernie Sanders](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trump-wealth-power-intersection-1793479) has also called on major technology companies to pause AI development, citing concerns over the possible consequences of increasingly powerful systems.\n\nFor Kaufmyn, those warnings have been vindicating. She said she experienced 'a wave of grief' after her conviction because she believed her peers did not understand the danger she was trying to highlight. She later said she was beginning to feel vindicated as prominent political figures started raising similar concerns.\n\nThe comparison with civil rights campaigner Rosa Parks has also followed her into the case. AI safety researcher David Krueger suggested Kaufmyn could eventually be remembered as the 'Rosa Parks of AI risk'.\n\nKaufmyn herself has played down the comparison, pointing to the short length of her sentence. She has also previously been jailed for brief periods connected with decades of political activism over issues including nuclear disarmament, Nicaragua, Western Sahara and Palestine.\n\nThe case has not been without controversy within StopAI itself. The Guardian reported that the group's co-founder, [Sam Kirchner](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/openai-insiders-claim-sam-altman-lying-manipulative-untrustworthy-new-yorkers-investigation-1790564), went missing in November 2025 following an internal dispute over whether the organisation should continue adhering to non-violent tactics. Concerns were reportedly raised that he could take violent action against OpenAI employees. StopAI says it pursues non-violent direct action.\n\nSan Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins defended the prosecution, saying the jury's verdict sent 'a resounding message rejecting the notion that protesters can endanger public safety as a means to an end'.\n\nKaufmyn's sentence was initially set at 14 days, with custody credits reducing the period she actually had to serve to seven days. She has also been ordered to stay at least 20 yards away from OpenAI's headquarters.\n\n© Copyright IBTimes 2025. All rights reserved.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/regain-your-humanity-first-person-jailed-for-anti-ai-protest-says-she-s-sounding", "canonical_source": "https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/first-protester-jailed-anti-ai-demonstration-openai-1814874", "published_at": "2026-08-18 13:03:51+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-18 13:13:37.318668+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-safety", "ai-policy", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["Wynd Kaufmyn", "StopAI", "OpenAI", "Anthropic", "Meta", "Stuart Russell", "University of California, Berkeley", "San Francisco District Attorney's Office"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/regain-your-humanity-first-person-jailed-for-anti-ai-protest-says-she-s-sounding", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/regain-your-humanity-first-person-jailed-for-anti-ai-protest-says-she-s-sounding.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/regain-your-humanity-first-person-jailed-for-anti-ai-protest-says-she-s-sounding.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/regain-your-humanity-first-person-jailed-for-anti-ai-protest-says-she-s-sounding.jsonld"}}