The parents of Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI researcher turned whistleblower who was found dead in his San Francisco apartment, have hired an independent investigator to conduct a private autopsy, casting doubt on the official ruling of suicide.
ABC7 News reports that Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old former OpenAI researcher turned whistleblower, was discovered dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26, 2024, during a well-being check conducted by the police. While the Medical Examiner’s office has ruled Balaji’s death a suicide, with no signs of foul play, his parents, Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy, are questioning the official findings and have taken matters into their own hands by hiring an expert to perform an independent autopsy.
Balaji’s death comes just three months after he publicly accused OpenAI, the company behind the groundbreaking AI chatbot ChatGPT, of violating U.S. copyright law during the development of their technology. His allegations were expected to play a crucial role in potential lawsuits against the company, although OpenAI maintains that all of its work falls under the protection of fair use laws.
