Suchir Balaji voiced serious concerns about OpenAI. He was found dead last month

Suchir Balaji, a former researcher at OpenAI known for his firm stance against the AI giant's policies, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26, 2024. The 26-year-old's death was ruled a suicide by the San Francisco Police Department, with no indications of foul play.

In October 2024, Balaji spoke out against OpenAI in a New York Times interview, alleging that the company's use of copyrighted data to develop its popular chatbot, ChatGPT, violated US copyright law. He criticised OpenAI's business practices, arguing that the technologies they were developing were damaging the internet ecosystem. 

In the interview, Balaji contended that OpenAI's approach was unsustainable and could potentially harm the commercial viability of online content creators and internet services. When he left OpenAI, he stated that he no longer wanted to contribute to what he saw as detrimental technologies, according to the New York Times report.

In his public comments, Balaji also expressed deep concerns about the implications of AI technologies like ChatGPT, warning that they could replace existing internet services with a flood of false and sometimes fabricated information, as per a recent report by BBC on the incident.

According to his LinkedIn page, Balaji graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2021 with a degree in Computer Science. During his time at Berkeley, he notably won 1st place in both the 2017 Pacific Northwest Regional Programming Contest and the 2017 Berkeley Programming Contest. 

Before joining OpenAI in 2019 as a Machine Learning Intern, he worked at companies like Scale AI, Helia, and Quora. He was promoted to Member of Technical Staff in November 2020, a position in which he stayed until his departure in August 2024. 

Balaji's death follows a string of public disputes with OpenAI, including lawsuits from news publishers and writers alleging that the company was illegally using copyrighted material to train its AI models. The New York Times, which sued OpenAI and its partner Microsoft in December, claimed that OpenAI's practices directly competed with traditional news outlets as a source of reliable information. OpenAI has denied these claims, insisting that its models are built using publicly available data and adhere to fair use principles.

The circumstances surrounding his death have raised questions about the pressures Balaji may have faced due to his outspoken stance on OpenAI's practices. While OpenAI has not commented directly on the details of Balaji's death, a BBC report states that an OpenAI spokesperson issued a statement expressing sorrow over the loss and extending condolences to his loved ones.