A 26-year-old former researcher, Suchir Balaji, was found dead in his Lower Haight apartment by San Francisco police on November 26. The manner of death has been determined to be suicide with no evidence of foul play. Balaji had recently accused OpenAI of using copyrighted material to train ChatGPT after quitting the company in August. He had also participated in a New York Times story about fair use and generative AI, citing his skepticism towards the concept as a defense for generative AI products. Multiple lawsuits against OpenAI are expected to present information Balaji uncovered as key evidence. The investigation is ongoing, but police confirm there was no indication of foul play during the initial check.
Source: https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/13/key-openai-whistleblower-dead-by-suicide