Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI researcher, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment, months after making serious accusations against the company regarding copyright violations in the development of ChatGPT. While the authorities initially ruled his death as a suicide, his mother, Poornima Rao, has vehemently denied this, alleging that her son was “murdered.”
Rao has publicly demanded an FBI investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death, claiming that the evidence points to foul play rather than suicide.
Discrepancies in the Autopsy Reports
Poornima Rao highlighted significant discrepancies between the official autopsy report and a private autopsy conducted by a hired investigator. The private report contradicted the police’s claim that Balaji’s death was a suicide. Rao also stated that Balaji’s apartment had been “ransacked” and that there were signs of a violent struggle in the bathroom, where blood stains suggested that he had been struck before his death.
“We hired a private investigator and conducted a second autopsy. The findings didn’t match the official cause of death,” Rao stated in a post on X. She emphasized that the signs pointed to a “cold-blooded murder,” which authorities had mistakenly labeled as suicide.
Elon Musk responded to the post, expressing skepticism about the suicide ruling, stating, “This doesn’t seem like a suicide.”
Background: Balaji’s Legal Concerns with OpenAI
Before his death, Balaji had expressed his concerns about OpenAI’s practices in relation to copyright laws. He raised doubts about the “fair use” defense used by generative AI products, specifically ChatGPT. Balaji, who had worked at OpenAI for nearly four years, stated that many generative AI products could substitute the data they were trained on, thereby violating copyright laws.
In a post on X, he mentioned his growing concerns regarding generative AI’s impact on copyright law, particularly following lawsuits against GenAI companies. His stance placed him in direct conflict with OpenAI, which was later embroiled in a lawsuit filed by The New York Times, accusing the company of using its articles without permission.
Call for FBI Investigation
Rao’s call for an FBI investigation has brought significant attention to Balaji’s death. While authorities initially ruled it a suicide, the mounting evidence of foul play has fueled suspicions that his death was linked to his public criticism of OpenAI and the ongoing copyright issues surrounding the company.
