OpenAI Defends Firing Three Safety Researchers Over Information Handling, Drawing Scrutiny

OpenAI has fired three AI safety researchers—Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni—over the mishandling of sensitive company information, denying the dismissals were connected to safety advocacy despite mounting tension over the company's safety culture. An internal investigation determined that the three researchers violated company policies on accessing and handling sensitive information, including infrastructure details, which they allegedly shared with external AI safety organizations outside established procedures. OpenAI stated that "these decisions were not about raising safety concerns or speaking out," addressing speculation that the terminations were retaliatory.