{
  "id": 13125892,
  "title": "OpenAI says it didn’t fire 3 safety researchers for 'speaking out' on AI risks",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/openai-says-it-didnt-fire-3-safety-researchers-for-speaking-out-on-ai",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-09T13:43:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-response-fired-ai-safety-researchers-2026-10"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "OpenAI has defended its decision to terminate three AI safety researchers, asserting that the dismissals were not in retaliation for speaking out about the risks associated with artificial intelligence. The three researchers, Jasmine Wang, Mikita Balesni, and Tomek Korbak, were fired following an internal investigation that uncovered a breach of policy regarding sensitive information handling. OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, clarified that the firings were unrelated to the researchers' concerns about AI safety. Instead, the company stated that the researchers violated policies surrounding sensitive information, leading to their dismissal. In a separate open letter, the disgraced researchers voiced their concerns that their firings could create a chilling effect on OpenAI's culture, discouraging employees from expressing their thoughts and operating freely. Despite the researchers' assertions, OpenAI maintained that the terminations were motivated by policy breaches and not by the researchers' attempts to raise safety concerns. The company also emphasized its commitment to preserving monitorability of frontier AI models, which it considers crucial to its ongoing research efforts. OpenAI expressed deep regret over the situation and praised the researchers' contributions to AI safety during their tenure.",
  "summary": "OpenAI on Friday defended firing three AI safety researchers after they warned in an open letter that their dismissals would have a \"chilling\" effect.",
  "key_points": [
    "OpenAI fired three AI safety researchers, Jasmine Wang, Mikita Balesni, and Tomek Korbak.",
    "The firings were not retaliation for speaking out on AI risks, but for policy breaches.",
    "Researchers expressed concern about chilling effect on OpenAI's culture."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/13125892.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC World",
        "title": "Fired OpenAI researchers say they were let go for 'prioritising safety'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/fired-openai-researchers-say-they-were-let-go-for-prioritising-safety",
        "published": "2026-10-09T09:30:49.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}