OpenAI Researcher-Turned-Whisteblower Who Accused Company of Violating Copyright Law Found Dead in His Apartment By Apparent Suicide: Police

An OpenAI whistleblower was found dead as a result of an apparent suicide in his California home last month, officials say.

"We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news today and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," OpenAI said in a statement to CNBC.

26-year-old Suchir Balaji's body was discovered by law enforcement after they visited his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 to conduct a wellness check on the former OpenAI employee.

According to the medical examiner's office, the death is believed to have been a suicide. Officials stated that there is "currently no evidence of foul play," reported The Mercury News.

Balaji was instrumental in assisting with the collection of massive amounts of internet data used to train OpenAI's chatbot assistant, ChatGPT. He joined the company in 2022, where he initially worked as a researcher.

However, when ChatGPT was released in late 2022, troves of computer programmers and journalists began accusing OpenAI of violating copyright laws, stating that the company used their copyrighted material illegally to help train its chatbot.

Balaji, who reportedly realized that OpenAI's use of copyrighted data was harmful to the creators of that data, left OpenAI in August.

"If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company," he said during a series of interviews with The New York Times.

The New York Times and The Mercury News are among several outlets that have sued OpenAI for infringing upon copyright laws within the past year. In November, the Times named Balaji an individual with "unique and relevant documents" they would use to supplement their case against OpenAI.