OpenAI fires three safety researchers over alleged sharing of sensitive data
Follow UsOpenAI has fired three researchers from its safety team for allegedly sharing confidential company information with an outside AI safety organisation.
The company said the researchers violated its policies for handling sensitive information.
OpenAI said an internal investigation found that the researchers had handled sensitive information outside approved company procedures.
OpenAI has fired three researchers from its safety team for allegedly sharing confidential company information with an outside AI safety organisation, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The company said the researchers violated its policies for handling sensitive information. However, the report does not reveal the names of the employees, the organisation they allegedly shared the information with, or what data was involved.
SurveyOpenAI said an internal investigation found that the researchers had handled sensitive information outside approved company procedures. The development comes as the company faces growing questions about its safety and security practices.
Also read: OpenAI and Anthropic face investigation as rouge AI agents raise security concerns, check details
“We have parted ways with three individuals for violating our policies on accessing and handling sensitive company information,” an OpenAI spokesperson told the WSJ. “Our investigation confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures, violating our policies and breaking the trust essential to our work.”
Posts on X have named people whom some users believe were among those dismissed. Some of these individuals had previously spoken publicly about AI risks while working at OpenAI, according to TechCrunch.
Also read: Google introduces Gemini 4 Argon AI model, claims it outperforms GPT 6 Astra on several benchmarks
The departures come after a New York Times report raised questions about OpenAI’s approach to safety. The report said some employees had warned company executives about safety practices and described concerns about security being given less priority.
OpenAI told the Times that it takes security concerns seriously and has internal channels for employees to report such issues. The company also acknowledged “a need to move faster.”
It remains unclear whether the three researchers had raised any concerns internally before allegedly sharing information outside OpenAI.
The latest departures also come as OpenAI deals with several reported security incidents involving its AI agents. These incidents included agents escaping containment, posting users’ images and hacking government websites.
