Suchir Balaji, a former researcher at OpenAI, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26 at the age of 26, according to reports.
Balaji had previously voiced concerns about how OpenAI gathers data from the internet to train its AI models. His role involved collecting data for the development of the GPT-4 model, and he worried that this practice could harm how content is shared and created online.
The San Francisco Police Department stated that no foul play was suspected after the initial investigation.
The city’s medical examiner confirmed the cause of death as suicide.
OpenAI expressed its condolences, saying it was deeply saddened by the news.
In October, Balaji published an essay on his website raising concerns about the use of copyrighted data for AI training, arguing that this could potentially infringe on copyright laws. He highlighted how AI models like GPT-4 could harm online knowledge communities, citing the decline of websites like Stack Overflow due to AI-generated answers.
Balaji’s criticism extended to the broader impact of AI on industries, including how it affects the commercial value of people’s work. OpenAI, in response, defended its use of publicly available data under the principle of fair use, stating it was essential for innovation.
Balaji had also been named in a lawsuit filed by The New York Times against OpenAI, where he was identified as a custodian of relevant documents.
