Thieving Sam Altman caught stealing from Target – here’s what really happened
Sam Altman, the CEO of artificial intelligence (AI) giant OpenAI, was caught stealing from a Target store. However, in this case, the video doesn’t tell the full story.
A video uploaded to LinkedIn by the chief technology officer and co-founder of AQ22, David Mataciunas, shows OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a particularly compromising position.
Altman is seen picking something up from an aisle in Target and walking out through what looks like a fire exit door without paying for the item.
Security swiftly accosts the multi-billionaire before he can walk through the door.
The same video uploaded to X received over 83,000 views, and other videos featuring Altman began cropping up across the social media platform.
One video shows Altman and the general public dancing together in a subway station.
sora 2: sam altman goes into train station and makes everyone dance with him pic.twitter.com/XZdxMvqf5f
undefined gabriel (@GabrielPeterss4) September 30, 2025
But while some would like to believe that one of the richest men in tech needs to steal graphic processing units from his local Target, alas, the video isn’t real.
The clip you’ve just watched was generated using OpenAI’s latest video generation model, Sora 2, which is “more physically accurate, realistic, and more controllable than prior systems,” OpenAI said.
Sora 2, described as the “GPT‑3.5 moment for video,” can create eerily realistic videos like the thieving Altman one you’ve just seen.
OpenAI explains that the video and audio generation model conforms much better to the laws of physics than the previous model.
With the previous model, “if a basketball player misses a shot, the ball may spontaneously teleport to the hoop. In Sora 2, if a basketball player misses a shot, it will rebound off the backboard,” just like in reality.
Sora 2 is available in the iOS app in the US and Canada, and it is planned to expand to other countries.
However, the launch of the Sora app hasn’t been smooth sailing, as this release is likely to ruffle some feathers in Hollywood.
By default, Sora generates media based on copyrighted content, and media production companies, studios, and talent agencies must tell the company if they don’t want their copyrighted content used by OpenAI.
The ChatGPT-maker has reportedly been in talks with various copyright holders to discuss the policy. Disney has already opted out of having its content used in the app, people with knowledge of the matter have said.
Earlier this year, OpenAI pressed the Trump administration to declare that training AI models on copyrighted material fell under the "fair use" provision in copyright law.
"Applying the fair use doctrine to AI is not only a matter of American competitiveness – it’s a matter of national security," OpenAI argued in March.
With the rise of AI actors approaching Hollywood and the generation of AI slop on platforms like Spotify, the creative industry might be in trouble.
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