OpenAI Researcher Death: Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old former OpenAI researcher who had previously raised concerns about the company’s operations and practices, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26, reports said on Saturday. Several media reports said that the AI researcher died by suicide.
According to Balaji’s LinkedIn profile, he worked for OpenAI from November 2020 to August 2024. During an interview with The New York Times in October, Balaji raised concerns about OpenAI breaking copyright law.
Earlier on October 24, Balaji shared a post on X (formerly Twitter), discussing fair use about generative AI. Reflecting on his four-year experience at OpenAI, including a year and a half working on ChatGPT, Balaji concluded that “fair use seems like a pretty implausible defence for a lot of generative AI products.”
An initial probe into the matter suggested no foul play. “Officers and medics arrived on scene and located a deceased adult …