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Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old former OpenAI employee, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26, 2024.
Suchir Balaji resigned from OpenAI in August this year. (Photo Credits: Suchir Balaji/LinkedIn)
Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old Indian-American researcher and former OpenAI employee, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26, 2024. The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that his death was ruled as a suicide. In an interview with The New York Times in October, Balaji had expressed his growing concerns with OpenAI particularly for its use of data sourced from the internet to train its AI models which he felt was violating copyright laws.
Now, in an interview with Business Insider, his mother, Poornima Ramarao Balaji, reflected on the tragedy, stating, “This is not a normal situation.”
Suchir, who had worked at OpenAI and helped train the company’s AI models, was concerned about the ethical implications of the company’s practices. He even resigned from OpenAI in August 2024 after growing uncomfortable with the way the company was handling data.
Poornima remembers her son as a brilliant child who showed early signs of exceptional talent. By the time he was 2 years old, he could form complex sentences, she recalled. Suchir’s parents were always amazed by his abilities. At a young age, he taught himself to code and built his first computer at 13. At 17, he was recruited by Quora to work for them despite his mother’s initial hesitations.
Suchir went on to win a $100,000 prize in a TSA-sponsored challenge while studying at UC Berkeley. His talents led him to OpenAI in 2018 where he quickly became a key member of the team, contributing to the development of ChatGPT. However, over time, Suchir became disillusioned with OpenAI’s shift away from its original mission of ensuring AI benefited humanity. By 2023, he was openly critical of CEO Sam Altman and the company’s direction.
“He felt AI is a harm to humanity,” his mother said.
Poornima recalls how, in their last conversation, she urged him to be careful in his fight against corporate wrongdoing. “I literally blasted him. ‘’You should not go alone. Why did you give your picture? Why did you give your name? Why don’t you stay anonymous? What’s the need for you to give your picture?’” she said.
Just hours before his death, Suchir celebrated his birthday and seemed happy. Poornima spoke with him on the phone the day before his body was found. “He was upbeat and happy. What can go wrong within a few hours that his life is lost?” she said.
The family has requested a private autopsy, and they are continuing to push for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Suchir’s death. Poornima is determined to find out what truly happened, saying, “We want to leave the question open. It doesn’t look like a normal situation.”
