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Suchir Balaji (1998 – November 26, 2024) was an artificial intelligence researcher and former employee of OpenAI. He gained attention for his whistleblowing activities related to artificial intelligence ethics and the inner workings of OpenAI.

Early life and education

Balaji was born in an Indian-American household and was raised in Cupertino, California. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2021, receiving a Bachelor of Arts with a major in computer science. He was the 31st position in the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest 2018 World Finals. He was the first place in both the 2017 Pacific Northwest Regional and Berkeley Programming Contests.

Career

Suchir Balaji spent nearly four years as an artificial intelligence researcher at OpenAI. Among the projects he was involved in, he gathered and organized the internet data that the company used to build its online chatbot, ChatGPT. He left the company in August 2024 after becoming disillusioned with its business practices, which he publicly denounced, alleging the company violated the United States copyright law in order to develop ChatGPT. Furthermore, he charged that ChatGPT would render many people and firms commercially unviable by utilizing their content to make improvements to OpenAI's artificial intelligence systems. In an October 2024 story published by the New York Times, Balaji expressed these concerns regarding OpenAI, and was quoted saying "If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company."

OpenAI was involved in legal matters relating to data-sharing, as North American news publishers and professional writers alike filed lawsuits against the company, alleging illegal use of their articles for software training. The company argued that the software was "grounded in fair use and related international copyright principles that are fair for creators and support innovation", and defended its business practices by contending that its software models are "trained on publicly available data."

After leaving OpenAI, Balaji said he had been working on "personal projects", including plans to create a nonprofit centered on machine learning and neurosciences.

Death

On November 26, 2024, police said they found Balaji dead in his apartment in San Francisco, when they arrived there after being requested to conduct a well-being check. He was 26 years old. His death was confirmed by his former employer, OpenAI, and a spokesperson for the company said it was "devastated" by the news of Balaji's passing.

The police ruled that there was "no evidence of foul play" found during the investigation, and the San Francisco medical examiner's office confirmed the cause of death as suicide. His death has prompted public and media interest, particularly given his whistleblowing claims. The circumstances surrounding Balaji's death remain unclear, and investigations are ongoing; his parents doubted the ruling of suicide, and hired an independent investigator.

See also

• List of whistleblowers
• Ethics of artificial intelligence

References

1. "Who Was Suchir Balaji? Know About Former OpenAI Researcher Found Dead In San Francisco". News18. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
2. ^ "Suchir Balaji: OpenAI whistleblower found dead in apartment". BBC. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
3. ^ "Former OpenAI Researcher Says the Company Broke Copyright Law". October 23, 2024. Archived from the original on December 15, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
4. Galvin, Shane (December 14, 2024). "OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji found dead by suicide in San Francisco apartment". Retrieved December 18, 2024.
5. Sharma, Rishabh (December 15, 2024). "Who was Suchir Balaji, OpenAI whistleblower found dead in San Francisco?". business-standard.com. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
6. "OpenAI whistleblower who died was being considered as witness against company". The Guardian. Associated Press. December 21, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
7. ^ "OpenAI whistleblower found dead in apartment". Sky News. Archived from the original on December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
8. "OpenAI whistleblower death: Parents want to know what happened to Suchir Balaji after apparent suicide".
9. "What we know about the Suchir Balaji case so far". The Times of India. December 14, 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
10. "Key OpenAI whistleblower found dead by suicide in SF apartment". The San Francisco Standard. December 14, 2024. Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
11. "Suchir Balaji voiced serious concerns about OpenAI. He was found dead last month". The Daily Star. December 15, 2024. Archived from the original on December 15, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
12. "What OpenAI Whistleblower Suchir Balaji Revealed About The Dark Side Of AI Before Death". www.ndtv.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
13. "Parents of OpenAI whistleblower hire private investigator after his SF death: report". ABC 7 News. December 27, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.

• 2024 deaths
• American whistleblowers
• People from San Francisco
• OpenAI people
• Artificial intelligence people
• University of California, Berkeley alumni
• 1998 births
• 2024 suicides