E-Paper
Open AI on whistleblower Suchir Balaji's death, his mother's ‘murder’ claim: ‘Heartbroken’
Balaji was discovered dead in his San Francisco apartment on his birthday in November. He had stayed at OpenAI for almost four years but quit in August 2023.
American AI research organisation Open AI said it was still “feeling heartbroken” by the passing away of its researcher-turned-whistleblower Suchir Balaji.
The deceased 26-year-old Indian-origin American had accused the company, which owns ChatGPT, of violating copyright laws while developing its AI-based model.
Balaji was discovered dead in his San Francisco apartment on his birthday in November. He had stayed at OpenAI for almost four years but quit in August 2023, complaining about the company’s change to a profit-oriented business.
In a statement on social media platform X, the company described Balaji as a “valued member” whose loss is still felt today.
“Suchir was a valued member of our team and we are still heartbroken by his passing. We continue to feel his loss deeply. We have reached out to the San Francisco Police Department and have offered our assistance if it's needed. Law enforcement are the right authorities in this situation, and we trust them to continue sharing updates as needed,” OpenAI said in a statement.
The company said it “won't be commenting further”, out of respect for Balaji's death.
What did Suchir Balaji's mother allege?
Balaji's mother, Poornima Ramarao, alleged that her son's death was not due to suicide and also claimed major lapses in the investigation, which established prima facie that the researcher had died by suicide.
Ramarao said that her son had incriminating documents against the company, which she claimed were missing after his death.
“Everybody is suppressed. Nobody is ready to come up and tell the truth. Even the attorneys have been made to tell that it is a suicide,” she said in an interview with controversial former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.
American billionaire Elon Musk had called Ramarao's allegations “extremely concerning”.
Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna had also called for a “full and transparent” FBI investigation following Poornima's claims.
