{
  "id": 12974409,
  "title": "AI researcher Mikita Balesni says he believes OpenAI fired him, Tomek Korbak, and Jasmine Wang for \"prioritizing safety over the near-term interests of OpenAI\" (Mikita Balesni/@balesni)",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/ai-researcher-mikita-balesni-says-he-believes-openai-fired-him-tomek",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-08T23:01:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Techmeme",
    "slug": "techmeme",
    "url": "https://x.com/balesni/status/2108262814003687745"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "AI researcher Mikita Balesni and two colleagues, Tomek Korbak and Jasmine Wang, were recently fired from OpenAI. According to Balesni, they were let go for prioritizing safety over the company's near-term interests.\n\nThe three researchers had written an open letter to OpenAI's leadership, expressing concerns that their dismissal could have a chilling effect on the company's culture. They denied claims that they mishandled sensitive information, stating that they had shared confidential company information with a third-party AI safety organization.\n\nOpenAI had cited policy violations, specifically that they had accessed and handled sensitive company information improperly. The researchers argued that their work on safety required close collaboration with outside experts and that this freedom to collaborate was an essential safety mechanism.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Business Insider",
        "title": "3 fired OpenAI researchers release letter saying their axing will leave ‘chilling’ effects on company culture",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/3-fired-openai-researchers-release-letter-saying-their-axing-will",
        "published": "2026-10-08T22:38:56.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Fired researchers accuse OpenAI of ‘chilling’ safety efforts",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/fired-researchers-accuse-openai-of-chilling-safety-efforts",
        "published": "2026-10-09T00:37:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "Fired security researchers accuse OpenAI of 'chilling' safety efforts",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/fired-security-researchers-accuse-openai-of-chilling-safety-efforts",
        "published": "2026-10-09T02:27:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}