A gifted engineer. A love for Saudi Arabia. A bugging device wrapped in toilet paper.
Source: Business Insider ·
Abdulrahman Alfozan's career was defined by a desire to learn from Silicon Valley and build bridges with his home country.
From the source
Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national employed as an OpenAI engineer, looks behind a television where a recording device had been placed in a conference room.DOJ/ReutersAbdulrahman Alfozan loved Saudi Arabia.One day before arresting the former OpenAI engineer on charges of bugging the office, the Justice Department worried he would flee back to his home country. Alfozan, his wife, and another family member had already booked one-way tickets, the department said in a court filing.It wouldn't be unusual for Alfozan's thoughts to return to the Gulf. The idea of moving back had followed him through his years working in tech. It inspired him to found a nonprofit that connects Silicon Valley talent with Saudi companies, and to join a WhatsApp group with other Gulf professionals.But he stayed in the US for one big reason, he said in a translated interview released in September, in which he detailed his life and work."The best place for me to build technical expertise was Silicon Valley,"…