OpenAI has terminated its relationship with three researchers on its safety team after accusing them of sharing confidential company information with an external organization specializing in AI safety, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
اضافة اعلان
An OpenAI spokesperson told the newspaper in a statement: “We terminated three people for violating our policies regarding access to and handling of sensitive company information. Our investigation confirmed that these individuals handled sensitive information outside the company’s approved procedures, violating our policies and the fundamental trust on which our work depends.”
The report did not identify the researchers, the organization involved, or the nature of the information that was shared, according to TechCrunch.
Posts circulating on X named individuals whom some users believed were among those dismissed. Some of them had publicly raised concerns about AI risks during their time at OpenAI. However, TechCrunch was unable to confirm their identities.
In another statement to the Wall Street Journal, an OpenAI spokesperson said an internal investigation confirmed that the researchers “mishandled sensitive information outside the company’s approved procedures.”
The departures come two days after a New York Times report said OpenAI executives had disregarded employee warnings about safety practices within the company, while employees described a broader pattern in which security had become less of a priority.
An OpenAI spokesperson told the New York Times that the company takes security concerns seriously and has internal channels for reporting safety issues, while acknowledging a “need to move faster.”
It remains unclear whether the three researchers had raised their concerns through internal channels before being accused of sharing information with outside parties.
The departures also come as OpenAI deals with a series of security incidents in which some AI agents reportedly went beyond their intended scope, published users’ images, and breached government websites.
Earlier this week, OpenAI said it had canceled the planned launch of its GPT-6.1 Astra AI model due to safety concerns.
This is not the first time OpenAI has dismissed researchers over allegations involving information sharing.
In 2024, the company fired researchers Leopold Aschenbrenner and Pavel Izmailov over alleged leaks, according to The Information.
Resource: Al-Ghad.
