In December, Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI researcher who blew the whistle on alleged copyright violations by the company, was found dead in his apartment. His death was ruled a suicide, but family members and others raised the possibility of foul play.
Balaji’s parents, Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamruthy, publicly called on further investigations into his death, hired their own investigators and filed a lawsuit against the San Francisco police demanding its full report.
On February 14, the police released a 13-page report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) “confirming their initial determination that Balaji had died by suicide and pronouncing the investigation into Balaji’s death officially closed,” according to Fortune.
“The OCME found no evidence or information to establish a cause and manner of death for Mr. Balaji other than a suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” reads the medical examiner’s report. “SFPD conducted an independent investigation and based on the information SFPD reviewed, there is insufficient evidence to find Mr. Balaji’s death was the result of a homicide.”
Balaji’s parents however, believe that some inconsistencies in the report suggest that his death was the result of a homicide.
Balaji’s mother, Poornima Ramarao, is the latest guest on the Whistleblower of the Week podcast. She discusses the questions she has surrounding her’s death and the related police investigation, and why Ramarao hopes his passing will help lead to better protections for AI whistleblowers.
“It’s not only the death of our loved one, but also missing protection for whistleblowers,” write Ramarao and Ramamruthy in a GoFundMe Justice for Suchir Balaji. “We want to bring out truth and ensure others are not impacted in the future. We want this to set an example how pursuits of all whistleblowers like Suchir can be continued along with community support to make the world better.”
Over the past year, advocates and lawmakers have suggested that there is an urgent need to for better AI whistleblower protections to ensure that employees understand that they can raise concerns to federal regulatory or law enforcement authorities to ensure that the technology is developed and deployed safely.
National Whistleblower Center has set up an Action Alert allowing supporters to write to Congress demanding protections for artificial intelligence whistleblowers.
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