OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji found dead in US apartment
San Francisco: Suchir Balaji, a former Artificial Intelligence (AI) researcher at OpenAI, was found dead in his Buchanan Street apartment on November 26. The 26-year-old, who reportedly died by suicide, was known for his criticisms of OpenAI’s practices and his allegations of copyright violations by the company.
The San Francisco Police Department stated that their initial investigation found no evidence of foul play. Balaji had worked with OpenAI from November 2020 to August 2024, as per his LinkedIn profile.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has had a contentious relationship with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, responded cryptically to the news on X (formerly Twitter) with a post that simply read "hmm."
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2024
In October, Balaji had publicly accused OpenAI of breaching copyright laws and criticised generative AI products like ChatGPT for potentially harming the internet and violating fair use principles. Speaking to The New York Times, he urged others to leave the company if they shared his beliefs.
In a detailed blog post, Balaji had dissected the fair use doctrine, arguing that ChatGPT and similar products do not pass the four-factor test for fair use, especially in their impact on the market value of copyrighted works. He noted, "None of the four factors seem to weigh in favour of ChatGPT being a fair use of its training data."
Balaji was involved in AI research for four years, including work on ChatGPT for a year and a half. He had raised concerns about generative AI substituting original data, leading to legal and ethical questions. His public statements had sparked discussions on the implications of generative AI on copyright and internet use.
I recently participated in a NYT story about fair use and generative AI, and why I'm skeptical "fair use" would be a plausible defense for a lot of generative AI products. I also wrote a blog post (https://t.co/xhiVyCk2Vk) about the nitty-gritty details of fair use and why I…
— Suchir Balaji (@suchirbalaji) October 23, 2024
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MP businessman, wife die by suicide, alleging ED harassment; Agency denies claims
Bhopal: The deaths of businessman Manoj Parmar and his wife Neha Parmar, who were found hanging in their home in Ashta, Madhya Pradesh, on Friday, have triggered a heated political debate. A purported suicide note, which surfaced on social media, alleges harassment by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and pressure from BJP leaders, further intensifying the row.
The suicide note, addressed to several prominent figures, including the President of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, urges Gandhi and other Congress leaders to ensure the safety of the deceased couple's children. The note accuses the ED and BJP of targeting the family due to their political association with the Congress. Manoj Parmar’s children had supported Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra by gifting their piggybank, which the Congress has cited as a reason for the alleged harassment.
Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister Kamal Nath and state president Jitu Patwari, have claimed that the deaths are not suicides but "state-sponsored murders." Nath alleged that the ED and BJP government harassed Parmar to force him to join the BJP. Patwari visited the family and vowed to support them. He further accused investigative agencies of being misused to intimidate political opponents.
In response, Madhya Pradesh BJP media in-charge Ashish Agrawal condemned the Congress for politicising the incident. He accused Congress leaders of exploiting the tragedy for political gains and urged them to understand Parmar's legal history before making allegations.
The ED, in a statement, denied allegations of harassment and termed the deaths "unfortunate." The agency stated that searches were conducted on December 5 at four locations linked to Parmar and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with a bank fraud case. The ED claimed to have recovered incriminating documents, frozen a bank balance of ₹3.5 lakh, and identified four immovable properties linked to the case.
The investigation stems from a CBI FIR against Parmar and a senior Punjab National Bank (PNB) manager, accusing them of availing loans worth ₹6 crore under government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme and Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana. The ED alleges that the funds were diverted into personal accounts and withdrawn in cash to invest in properties.
Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Akash Amalkar confirmed that a typed suicide note in the form of an application was recovered. However, he refrained from disclosing further details, citing the ongoing investigation. Statements from the grieving family are yet to be recorded.
