'Open AI, makers of ChatGPT killed my son....': Poornima Rao, mother of whistleblower Suchir Balaji

Authorities, after an initial investigation, concluded that his death was an act of suicide. However, his parents remain suspicious and unconvinced of the results.
OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji
OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji
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The news about the death of Suchir Balaji, former AI researcher and whistleblower resurfaced as his mother, Poornima Rao, spoke out about his death.

She said that OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT killed her son as he was a threat to them for possessing documents against them and what they are up to.

In an interview with American commentator Tucker Carlson, Poornima Rao accused ChatGPT for intervening with the investigation. She spoke about how after his death, the witnesses were silenced and even attorneys were asked to tag his death as a suicide. She also said that "some documents which he had against them were missing after the death."

Elon Musk shared Rao's interview with Tucker Carlson on X, captioning it 'Extremely concerning'.

Suchir Balaji was found dead in his apartment last November shortly after revealing the ethical concerns of ChatGPT maker's approach.

Authorities, after an initial investigation, concluded that his death was an act of suicide. However, his parents remained suspicious and unconvinced of the results of the investigation and called for an FBI investigation into the matter.

"It took them (authorities) more than 14 minutes to determine the cause of death and tell me that it was a suicide," said Poornima Rao.

They alleged Balaji was murdered as he turned a whistleblower against AI-giant OpenAI. San Francisco Police Department reportedly reopened the case.

In an earlier post on X, Ms Rao said Suchir Balaji's "apartment was ransacked" and bloodstains were found. "Someone hit him in bathroom. There were blood spots. It was cold-blooded murder declared by authorities as suicide," she said.

Suchil Balaji resigned from Open AI in August 2023 after working for nearly four years. According to his mother, dissatisfaction with the company's policies and for-profit model made him turn a whistleblower.

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