OpenAI says three staffers fired for mishandling 'sensitive' information

An Open AI display welcomes attendees as they arrive for an OpenAI developers conference at Fort Mason on Sep 29, 2026, in San Francisco, California. (File photo: Getty Images via AFP)

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SAN FRANCISCO: ChatGPT-maker OpenAI said on Thursday (Oct 1) that it has fired three researchers for allegedly mishandling "sensitive information" and violating company policies, including work that involved an external organisation that evaluates artificial intelligence models.

The San Francisco-based AI lab did not confirm their identities, but at least two of the employees worked on safety and alignment, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

"We have parted ways with three individuals," OpenAI told AFP in a statement.

"Our investigation confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures, violating our policies and breaking the trust essential to our work."

The firings come amid a tense debate about AI safety and whether the technology presents an existential risk to humanity .

Last month, a 27-year-old researcher named Jacob Coxon resigned from Anthropic with a stark warning that the leading AI labs, including OpenAI, where he previously worked, were "gaming with our lives" by racing towards developing ever more powerful models.

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