The Mother of OpenAI Whistleblower Suchir Balaji
New Delhi:
OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, have eliminated my son to conceal something they wish to keep hidden, stated Poornima Rao, mother of whistleblower and former OpenAI researcher Suchir Balaji. He possessed records against them and their activities, she mentioned in her recent outburst against the tech giant.
In a explosive conversation with American commentator Tucker Carlson, Ms Rao made some remarkable assertions and severe accusations about her son’s demise and the lack of transparency and secrecy in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
Suchir Balaji was discovered deceased in his San Francisco residence in November, shortly after he had become a whistleblower against AI-giant OpenAI. He had openly raised ethical concerns about the practices of the ChatGPT maker before his passing. Following a preliminary examination, authorities had determined that his passing was a suicide. However, his family has since demanded an FBI investigation, pointing out several oversights and alleging that Balaji was murdered.
During the conversation, Ms Rao remembered that the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner had proclaimed that her son perished by suicide. Nevertheless, when they inquired if she believes he could have taken his own life and if he was recently feeling despondent, she informed them “My son celebrated his birthday the day before he died. What more evidence do we need to show that he was in high spirits?” She mentioned that he had even received his birthday present from his father on the same day he was subsequently discovered deceased.
Leveling a serious accusation against OpenAI, Ms Rao stated on record that “My son possessed records against OpenAI. They targeted him and terminated him,” indicating that “certain records were missing” after his demise.
She additionally accused the ChatGPT maker of concealing the investigation and any potential witnesses, expressing “Everyone is silenced, nobody is willing to come forward and speak the truth. Even the attorneys have been coerced to state that it was a suicide.”
Elon Musk shared Suchir Balaji’s mother’s conversation with Tucker Carlson on his X handle, labeling it “Highly troubling”.
Highly troubling
pic.twitter.com/ze1mmlIMdD— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025
Continuing her criticism of OpenAI, Suchir Balaji’s mother accused the authorities of an unconvincing reaction and a mishandled investigation, stating “It took them (authorities) over 14 minutes to ascertain the cause of death and inform me that it was a suicide.”
She also berated the police for withholding information and lacking transparency. “I knew that my son was deceased by observing the white van,” she remarked, adding that the officers kept inventing excuses to delay the information. “In the evening, they returned the keys to me and informed me that I could collect the body the next day,” she recounted.
In a prior post on the social media platform X, the mother had indicated that Suchir Balaji’s “residence was ransacked” and there was apparently a “sign of altercation in the bathroom”. She also alleged that there were bloodstains discovered. “Someone assaulted him in the bathroom. There were bloodstains,” she stated, concluding that “It was a premeditated murder disguised as suicide by the authorities.”
Suchir Balaji served at OpenAI for almost four years. He resigned in August, 2023 after expressing dissatisfaction with the company’s transition to a for-profit model. According to his mother, this shift played a significant role in his choice to depart and become a whistleblower. He had even given an interview to the New York Times citing concerns about the ChatGpt maker.
The San Francisco Police Department has purportedly reopened the case as an “active investigation,” but has not disclosed further information. Meanwhile, Suchir Balaji’s parents have demanded, “We insist on the FBI intervening to uncover the truth.”