A 26-year-old former OpenAI employee of Indian origin, Suchir Balaji, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Thanksgiving Day, authorities confirmed. The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) stated that officers conducted a welfare check at a Buchanan Street residence around 1:15 p.m. on November 26 and discovered Balaji deceased. The medical examiner’s office has ruled the death a suicide, with no evidence of foul play.
“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has identified the decedent as Suchir Balaji, 26, of San Francisco,” said David Serrano Sewell, Executive Director of the OCME. “The manner of death has been determined to be suicide. The OCME has notified the next-of-kin and has no further comment or reports for publication at this time.”
Balaji, who spoke out against OpenAI three months prior, had publicly accused the company of violating copyright laws in training its AI programs. In an October 23 interview with The New York Times, he criticized OpenAI for harming businesses by using their data without authorization and called the company’s model “unsustainable.” He left OpenAI because he believed its technologies were more harmful than beneficial. “If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” Balaji had said.
OpenAI expressed their sorrow at the news. “We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news today, and our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones during this difficult time,” the company said in a statement.
Balaji’s mother has requested privacy while grieving her son, according to reports from The Mercury News.
