Fired OpenAI researchers say they were let go for 'prioritising safety'

ByLaura Cress Technology reporter.

Key points

• The joint letter to OpenAI leadership was written by Balesni, Tomek Korbak and Jasmine Wang.
• Three former OpenAI researchers sacked for allegedly mishandling information claim they were instead let go since they raised safety worries at the tech firm.
• On 2 October, a spokesperson for the AI firm informed the BBC its investigation "confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures".
• OpenAI repeated these claims, external on Friday morning in a note from research leaders.
• "We were not the first to be pushed out of OpenAI under suspicious circumstances, " Wang remarked in a post on X, external.

"I believe we were fired for prioritising safety over the near-term interests of OpenAI as a corporation, " Mikita Balesni posted on X, external alongside an open letter to the ChatGPT-maker, written with fellow ex-employees.

"We want to be very clear that these decisions were not about raising safety concerns or speaking out, " the note remarked.

"Our internal investigation uncovered a significant breach of trust beyond what's outlined in the letter they published and we stand by the decision to not continue their employment."

For context, the dismissals come against the backdrop of a growing debate over AI safety and the potential risks advanced AI systems could pose to society.

Notably, the joint letter to OpenAI leadership was written by Balesni, Tomek Korbak and Jasmine Wang. This person say they were all, until lately, safety or alignment employees at the business.

Alignment is the practice of building human ethical ideas and principles into the technology. In other words, it intends to keep it on track with what humans value.

Notably, the former staff members triggered concern that their firings had created employees at the tech business "afraid to speak and operate in ways that, until last week, were an integral part of working at OpenAI".

Reposting the letter, Korbak wrote, external: For months, I'd been raising safety reservations that we're losing the ability to monitor what AI agents think, one of our best tools for catching when they misbehave. I believe that was why I was fired.

OpenAI remarked it was finalising contracts with third-party safety assessors and would announce details in the coming weeks.

"Unless the employees take a stand now against this kind of manoeuvre, I am concerned we will not be the last."

In short, fired OpenAI researchers say they were let go for ' prioritising safety&#039 is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.