A former OpenAI researcher-turned-whistleblower, Suchir Balaji, 26, was found dead in a San Francisco apartment on November 26, authorities have confirmed.
Police were called to conduct a welfare check, leading to the discovery of Balaji’s body. The San Francisco medical examiner’s office ruled his death as suicide, with no signs of foul play detected.
In recent months, Balaji had been vocal about his concerns regarding OpenAI’s practices. In an October interview with The New York Times, he accused the AI company of violating U.S. copyright laws during the development of its widely used chatbot, ChatGPT. After working at OpenAI for four years, Balaji left in August, claiming that the company’s use of copyrighted material to train its AI models was unlawful and harmful to the internet. OpenAI, however, maintains that its models are “trained on publicly available data.”
Balaji had been focusing on personal projects since his departure. A graduate of UC Berkeley with a computer science degree, he grew up in Cupertino, California.
In a statement cited by CNBC News, OpenAI expressed heartbreak over Balaji’s passing, extending condolences to his family and loved ones.
The controversy surrounding OpenAI’s data practices has intensified, with lawsuits from major publishers, including the New York Times, and prominent authors like John Grisham, alleging that the company illegally used their content to train AI software. OpenAI has defended its methods, stating they are based on fair use principles designed to balance innovation and creators’ rights.
