Mom of OpenAI Whistleblower Speaks Out on His Suicide Days After His Birthday
The family of former OpenAI researcher and company whistleblower Suchir Balaji has arranged for a second autopsy to be conducted
Suchir Balaji/X
Suchir BalajiThe body of former OpenAI researcher and company whistleblower Suchir Balaji was reportedly discovered in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26
Balaji left his job at OpenAI in August after four years as an AI researcher
"He was upbeat and happy," his mother Poornima Ramarao told Business Insider. "What can go wrong within a few hours that his life is lost?"
The mother of former OpenAI researcher and company whistleblower Suchir Balaji, who died by suicide, is speaking out about the final days of his life.
In an interview with Business Insider published on Thursday, Dec. 26, Poornima Ramarao spoke about her 26-year-old son, whose body was discovered in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26, according to CNBC.
"He was upbeat and happy," Ramarao said of Balaji. "What can go wrong within a few hours that his life is lost?"
Balaji had celebrated his 26th birthday on Nov. 21 with his friends while on vacation, the outlet reported. He later contacted Ramarao to let her know when his flight home was to take place, and he spoke on the phone with his father who wished him a happy birthday.
When she didn’t hear from him after two days, Ramarao knocked on the door of Balaji’s apartment but didn’t receive an answer. She told Business Insider that she initially hesitated about filing a missing persons report but contacted San Francisco police the following morning.
According to The San Francisco Standard, the San Francisco Police Department confirmed that authorities were called to an apartment on Buchanan Street on Nov. 26 to conduct a wellness check. There, they discovered a deceased adult male.
Ramarao told Business Insider that police did not tell her what happened and was prevented from entering her son’s apartment. She asked them to check for Balaji’s laptop and toothbrush so that she’d know her son had traveled.
About an hour later, according to Ramarao, authorities told her to go home, which she refused. Then about 90 minutes later, a long white van arrived.
"I was waiting to see medical help or nurses or someone coming out of the van," Ramarao told Business Insider. "But a stretcher came. A simple stretcher. I ran and asked the person. He said, 'We have a dead body in that apartment.' "
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As later recalled by Ramarao, police and the medical examiner told her at the apartment’s office that her son died by suicide. A SFPD spokesperson told Business Insider that there is no evidence of foul play.
David Serrano Sewell, director of San Francisco’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, told CNBC in a Dec. 13 email, “The manner of death has been determined to be suicide.”
However, Ramarao told the outlet that her family arranged for a private autopsy, adding that the results were atypical but did not disclose further information. She added that the family is working with a lawyer to ask the SFPD to open the case again and conduct a “proper investigation.”
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In an interview with Bay Area News Group, Ramarao said that her family had expressed doubts in the wake of Balaji taking his own life, recalling the Nov. 22 phone conversation she and her husband had with her son in which he didn’t indicate that something was wrong. The family has also commissioned a second independent autopsy.
"No one believes that he could do that," Ramarao said.
"He was very happy," she later recalled of her son. "He had a blast. He had one of the best times of his life.”
PEOPLE contacted Open AI, the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday, Dec. 27, for comments.
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According to The New York Times, Balaji left his job at OpenAI in August after four years as an AI researcher. In interviews with the newspaper, he concluded that the company had breached copyright laws in the development of its AI technology and that platforms such as ChatGPT were hurting society.
“If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” he told the Times for an article that was published on Oct. 23.
In his last X post dated Oct. 23, Balaji spoke about his participation in the Times story and stated that he was skeptical about "fair use" as a defense for generative AI products.
Related: AI Chatbot Allegedly Alarms User with Unsettling Message: Human 'Please Die'
“When I tried to understand the issue better, I eventually came to the conclusion that fair use seems like a pretty implausible defense for a lot of generative AI products, for the basic reason that they can create substitutes that compete with the data they're trained on,” he wrote.
“That being said, I don't want this to read as a critique of ChatGPT or OpenAI per se, because fair use and generative AI is a much broader issue than any one product or company,” he later added.
According to Ramarao, who described her son as a prodigy when he was a child, Balaji went from supporting his former company’s mission to being concerned about the consequences for society.
"He felt AI is a harm to humanity," she told Business Insider.
In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Open AI wrote, "We were devastated to learn of this tragic news and have been in touch with Suchir's family to offer our full support during this difficult time. Our priority is to continue to do everything we can to assist them."
"We first became aware of his concerns when The New York Times published his comments and we have no record of any further interaction with him," the spokesperson continued. "We respect his, and others', right to share views freely. Our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones, and we extend our deepest condolences to all who are mourning his loss."
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
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