OpenAI fired three AI safety researchers for mishandling sensitive information, and it is not backing down.
OpenAI dismissed researchers Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak and Mikita Balesni after an internal investigation found they committed what the company called "a significant breach of trust." In a post on X on Friday, OpenAI said the trio violated "clear policies on handling sensitive information." The company explicitly denied that the firings were related to the researchers speaking out about AI safety concerns. The statement came a day after the three published an open letter urging OpenAI to be more transparent about its reasoning.
The real dispute here is about trust, not just policy. OpenAI's safety work depends on researchers feeling free to raise concerns, whether internally or in public, and a firing framed around confidentiality rather than dissent only holds up if the company shows its reasoning. Right now it has chosen not to.
OpenAI says this was never about silencing critics. Three fired researchers and a public letter demanding more transparency suggest the distinction is not nearly as clean as the company's statement makes it sound.