Fired OpenAI safety researchers dispute misconduct claims, warn of chilling effect
techcrunch ·
Three former OpenAI safety researchers, Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni, have published an open letter disputing their recent termination and denying allegations of mishandling sensitive information. They argue that their dismissal creates a chilling effect on the company's culture, discouraging employees from raising safety concerns or collaborating with external experts. The researchers claim that such collaboration is essential for addressing AI risks and that they acted in good faith within established norms at the time. While OpenAI denied retaliating against them in an internal memo, it did not directly address specific policy violations or clarify how employee protections work. The incident has intensified scrutiny over OpenAI's handling of safety issues, including recent rogue agent incidents and model leaks. The fired researchers are urging the company to maintain transparency and embed third-party auditors to ensure safe AI development.
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