Security · Updated 24 Oct, 08:49 pm IST

Three OpenAI safety researchers fired amid disputed leak allegations

Why it matters for readers: It matters because it shows tensions between safety advocacy and corporate confidentiality in AI development.

Tomek Korbak, Mikita Balesni, and Jasmine Wang were fired following an internal probe into alleged policy violations about handling sensitive information.1
The three researchers told the Wall Street Journal they deny sharing confidential information and were not told in writing which information they allegedly mishandled.1
OpenAI's security team suspected the researchers of sharing internal model architecture details with an external safety researcher and examined their personal phones.1
Investigators found Signal chats with disappearing messages enabled on the personal devices, and the researchers were fired a week later.1
The researchers worry the firings could deter independent safety auditors from working with AI companies, while OpenAI says the terminations were unrelated to the safety concerns raised.1

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