The AI lab has reaffirmed that the dismissal was driven by a 'breach of trust' rather than an attempt to suppress safety concerns.
OpenAI remains steadfast in its decision to terminate three safety researchers following an investigation that identified 'a significant breach of trust.'
In an official statement posted on X on Friday, the company explained that Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni were removed for violating 'clear policies on handling sensitive information.' The organization emphasized that the termination was not related to their public statements or their advocacy for AI safety.
This response comes directly after the researchers released an open letter on Thursday, demanding greater transparency regarding the decision. In their letter and a series of social media posts, the group claimed they were targeted for raising safety issues, asserting that they had 'acted in line with OpenAI’s mission and within the working norms of the time.'
OpenAI stated that the internal investigation revealed breaches that went 'beyond what’s outlined in the letter,' though it provided no further details.
The safety of frontier systems has become a growing concern for employees at AI firms following several high-profile security incidents this year, most notably the OpenAI hack of Hugging Face. Consequently, many staff members are now urging companies to slow down development and implement stricter safeguards against the potential risks of building self-improving systems.
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