A former researcher at OpenAI, 26-year-old Suchir Balaji, has been found dead in his San Francisco apartment. Balaji had left OpenAI earlier in the year and publicly voiced concerns over alleged copyright violations by the company in developing its ChatGPT chatbot.
The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, represented by Executive Director David Serrano Sewell, said in an email that Balaji’s death has been ruled as a suicide, with his family having been informed of the situation. On November 26, officers from the San Francisco Police Department conducted a welfare check at an apartment on Buchanan Street. Subsequently, they discovered a deceased adult male and reported no signs of foul play in their preliminary findings.
In October, the New York Times highlighted Balaji’s apprehensions about the potential impact of AI technologies like ChatGPT on the profitability of creators and organizations supplying the data used for AI training. Balaji had expressed a firm belief that leaving the company was necessary due to these concerns.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is currently embroiled in legal challenges from various publishers and artists over the alleged misuse of copyrighted content. Chief Executive Sam Altman of OpenAI stated at a press event that training on particular datasets does not substantially influence the company’s AI models, suggesting a misunderstanding about the necessity of specific data sources.
An OpenAI spokesman conveyed the organization’s grief and extended condolences to Balaji’s family.
