OpenAI has dismissed three researchers after an internal investigation found violations of its policies for handling sensitive information, the artificial intelligence company said on October 9, 2026. The researchers are Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak and Mikita Balesni. The dismissals followed a public letter from the former employees expressing concerns that their sudden termination could discourage other staff from raising questions about artificial intelligence safety. Balesni said he believed the decision was linked to prioritising safety over the company’s short-term corporate interests. OpenAI rejected that claim, stating that the dismissals were unrelated to employees speaking out or raising safety concerns. The company described the findings as a significant breach of trust but did not disclose specific details of the alleged policy violations. The researchers also denied being the source of a recent news report about security concerns involving OpenAI’s latest artificial intelligence model, Astra. The dispute comes amid broader concerns among researchers at major artificial intelligence companies about whether sufficient safeguards are being developed to manage increasingly capable systems.
