Indian-American researcher at OpenAI, Suchir Balaji, has raised several serious questions. Balaji’s body was found in his San Francisco apartment on November 26. He was 26 years old. It is said that he died by suicide, and there is no suspicion or doubt regarding the cause of death. However, questions are being raised about why Suchir Balaji would take his own life.
Openai Whistleblower Suchir Balaji
Suchir had worked with OpenAI for four years and had left the platform in August this year. He had raised concerns about the use of copyrighted material in training generative AI models like ChatGPT. ChatGPT is an AI tool used bSy millions of people worldwide.
Balaji had written on X (formerly Twitter), “I recently participated in a New York Times report on fair use and generative AI, and I doubt that ‘fair use’ will be a valid defense for many generative AI products. I also wrote a blog post about it.”
In a separate interview with the New York Times, Balaji criticized OpenAI’s data collection methods, calling them harmful. He said, “If you think like I do, you will have to leave the company.”
Balaji’s concern was that generative AI systems could produce outputs that compete with original copyrighted material used in their training. In a blog post, Suchir wrote, “There is no reason to support the fair use of training data in ChatGPT.” He also stated that this issue wasn’t limited to OpenAI but was a larger problem.
Lawsuits filed against OpenAI, including ones from major media outlets like the New York Times, claim that the company's practices violate copyright laws. Balaji’s name is mentioned in court documents as a witness with “specific and relevant documents” that support these lawsuits.
OpenAI has repeatedly denied the accusations. In a report by the Chicago Tribune, OpenAI stated, “We believe that AI tools like ChatGPT can strengthen the relationship between publishers and readers and improve the news experience.”
Balaji’s death has intensified the debate over the ethical and legal implications of AI technologies. In the past two years, several individuals and businesses have filed lawsuits against OpenAI and other AI companies, accusing them of illegally using copyrighted material for training their technologies.
Sam Altman and his team were violating Copyright law and this is the consequence of knowing the truth.