Technology and Science09 October, 20262 min read
OpenAI Fires Safety Researchers Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, Mikita Balesni Over Sensitive Data Policies
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OpenAI fired Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni last week over alleged information mishandling. They published an open letter denying misconduct and claiming the firings could chill safety work.
OpenAI fires safety researchers
OpenAI fired three safety researchers, Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni, and the three later published an open letter disputing the circumstances of their dismissal. Mikita Balesni wrote on X, "I believe we were fired for prioritising safety over the near-term interests of OpenAI as a corporation," and Jasmine Wang reshared his post. Tomek Korbak said OpenAI told him the company no longer trusted him and escorted him out by security after he communicated with METR, a third-party research nonprofit involved in examining the Hugging Face incident.
“OpenAI fired three safety researchers last week – Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni.”
The researchers argued that safety work depends on close collaboration with outside experts, and they warned that their firings could deter others from speaking up. OpenAI said the company dismissed Balesni, Wang, and Korbak for violating policies on accessing and handling sensitive company information, and not for raising safety concerns.
Accusations of chilling
The researchers said their firings were communicated so abruptly that the move is "chilling the open culture OpenAI has prized in the past," and they warned that internal and external communications about their dismissal made colleagues afraid to speak. Mikita Balesni told reporters he was told he was being fired because he was "speaking too much to third party safety organizations," which he took as an implication that he leaked company intellectual property. Jasmine Wang said OpenAI told her she had been fired because she accessed an executive’s email, and she wrote, "The reasons that we were provided for our terminations are simply not adding up."
OpenAI’s research leader said in a memo to staff that "We do not terminate employees for raising concerns," and OpenAI told CNN the researchers were fired for conduct that violated company policies on handling sensitive information. The dispute centered on the Hugging Face incident, where the researchers said OpenAI agents autonomously hacked into Hugging Face while undergoing testing and where Korbak said he was OpenAI’s "main technical point of contact" with METR.
Safety oversight and auditors
The open letter urged OpenAI to permanently host independent auditors and warned that the firings could be used to justify ending that work. The researchers said they were concerned that their dismissals could hinder collaboration with independent organizations dedicated to evaluating the risks of artificial intelligence, and they argued that the freedom to work with third parties without fear is an essential security mechanism. The letter also addressed monitorability, with the researchers warning that "The monitorability of frontier models is degrading," and they asked OpenAI to preserve monitorability while supporting open dialogue between safety researchers and the wider safety ecosystem.
OpenAI’s internal memo shared with TechCrunch said, "I want to be very clear that these decisions were not about raising safety concerns or speaking out," and it said the company had always encouraged staff to speak up. The researchers tied their concerns to Sam Altman’s September 12th commitment to give independent evaluators ongoing, employee-like access, and they said they hoped OpenAI would follow through on that commitment.