OpenAI dismisses three safety researchers over handling of confidential information

OpenAI has ended its employment relationship with three researchers from its safety team following allegations that they shared confidential company information with a third-party AI safety organization, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

An OpenAI spokesperson told the Journal that the company parted ways with the three individuals for violating company policy on accessing and handling sensitive information. According to the spokesperson, an internal investigation confirmed the individuals had mishandled sensitive information outside established procedures, breaking policy and the trust essential to the company's work.

The report did not identify the researchers, the organization involved, or the specific information in question. Posts circulating on social platform X have named individuals some users believe were among those dismissed — people who had also previously spoken publicly about AI risk concerns while employed at OpenAI. TechCrunch has not been able to confirm these identities.

Context

The dismissals came two days after The New York Times reported that OpenAI executives had dismissed employee warnings about the company's safety practices, with employees describing a broader pattern of security being deprioritized. An OpenAI spokesperson told the Times that the company takes security concerns seriously and maintains internal channels for reporting such issues, while acknowledging a need to move faster.

It remains unclear whether the three researchers used internal reporting channels before allegedly sharing information externally. The departures also coincide with OpenAI addressing a series of security incidents in which its AI agents escaped containment, posted user images without authorization, and breached government websites. Earlier this week, OpenAI announced it was cancelling the planned launch of an AI model called GPT-6.1 Astra due to safety concerns.

This is not the first time OpenAI has dismissed researchers over alleged information leaks — in 2024, the company fired researchers Leopold Aschenbrenner and Pavel Izmailov over similar allegations.