Source: some of the information that the three OpenAI employees allegedly mishandled pertained to OpenAI's infrastructure architecture (Rachel Metz/Bloomberg)

OpenAI has terminated three researchers for allegedly mismanaging sensitive data and breaching company guidelines, according to a statement released on Thursday. The San Francisco-based AI firm did not disclose the names of the dismissed employees but confirmed that at least two of them were involved in safety and alignment work, as reported by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

OpenAI cited the violation of established procedures and the breach of trust as the reasons for the firings. This move comes amidst a heated discussion about AI safety and the potential existential threat posed by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology. The firings follow a recent resignation from Anthropic, where a researcher named Jacob Coxon warned that leading AI labs, including OpenAI, were recklessly racing towards ever more powerful models.

The three researchers who were let go - Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni - had been vocal about AI safety-related issues on X (formerly Twitter) in recent weeks.