 "Missing pen drive, no CCTV cameras: The shocking revelations in OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji's death case")
The death of Suchir Balaji has remained a topic of intense debate for weeks.
The Indian-American former OpenAI employee was found dead in November.
Police initially said that it “appeared to be a suicide.” However, new details in the case have brought to light shocking revelations, including the lack of CCTV cameras at the San Francisco apartment where his body was found.
ALSO READ | Why parents of OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji want FBI to investigate his death
Was this a suicide, or a “cold-blooded murder,” as alleged by his parents?
New revelations in Suchir Balaji death case
Fresh details surrounding the death of Suchir Balaji have appeared. It has come to light that there were no CCTV cameras installed at the San Francisco apartment where his body was found.
Investigative journalists have speculated that Suchir may have been struck on the back of his head before collapsing.
Notably, the police are yet to release an official autopsy report but maintain that Suchir shot himself and died by suicide on December 14, 2024. A forensic analysis of the fingerprints on the gun found at the scene is still awaited.
Suchir had applied for a gun licence, and the receipt was found on a table in his apartment. However, his family said that they were unaware of him owning a firearm.
It is believed that Suchir’s apartment was ransacked, with cupboards and drawers searched. A pen drive was reported missing from the premises.
In a conversation with CNN-News18, investigative journalist George Webb, who visited the apartment with Suchir’s parents, claimed it was a murder carried out by a single individual. Webb also provided the media outlet with videos of the apartment, showing that Suchir was found wearing an earphone in the washroom.
Suchir Balaji parents adter a walkthrough of his apartment. pic.twitter.com/DfD4bnsCzo
— George Webb - Investigative Journalist (@RealGeorgeWebb1) December 31, 2024
The incident, which took place shortly before Thanksgiving, led to speculation that police tried to wrap up the case quickly.
‘Not a suicide, it’s a murder’
Poornima Rao, the mother of Suchir Balaji, has alleged that her son was murdered and called for an FBI investigation into his death.
She claimed that his death was a “cold-blooded murder declared by authorities as suicide.” Poornima added that a private autopsy revealed findings that differed from the initial police report. According to her, Suchir’s apartment had been “ransacked,” with signs of a struggle in the bathroom suggesting he had been struck.
NEW: Parents of OpenAI whistleblower hire private investigator after their son allegedly took his own life, suggest their son was killed.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 29, 2024
The parents of 26-year-old Suchir Balaji say their son had plans to see them in January, claim there were "signs of a fight."
"I was the… pic.twitter.com/QNAs6fiEjs
“We have facts with the second autopsy — head trauma and signs of struggle. This is not a suicide, it’s a murder,” she told News18.
“There was a struggle, he did not take his life. Now, who and why need to be explored,” she added, urging the Indian government to support their demand for justice.
Police vs Balaji’s parents
The police stated that “no evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation.” The San Francisco Chief Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a suicide.
However, Suchir’s family hired a private investigator and conducted a second autopsy, which they claim counters the police’s findings.
Update on @suchirbalaji
— Poornima Rao (@RaoPoornima) December 29, 2024
We hired private investigator and did second autopsy to throw light on cause of death. Private autopsy doesn’t confirm cause of death stated by police.
Suchir’s apartment was ransacked , sign of struggle in the bathroom and looks like some one hit him…
Speaking to CNN-News18, Poornima Rao alleged that Suchir’s “computer was on for three days and ‘temp data’ was deleted from his computer.” She also said that “no suicide note was found,” and the family was not allowed to see the body. Further, the CCTV footage was not shared with them.
She described her son as being in a positive state of mind, saying, “He was on a vacation. He was very happy. There was nothing disturbing.”
ALSO READ | New York Times accuses OpenAI of deleting crucial evidence in copyright lawsuit
Meanwhile. Suchir’s father, Balagi Ramamurthy, said, “I was the last person to talk to him. He was happy more, not depressed or anything. And it was his birthday week.”
Notably, Suchir Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment, months after accusing OpenAI of violating laws during the development of ChatGPT. The San Francisco Police Department concluded the case as a suicide, citing no evidence of foul play.
Who was Suchir Balaji?
Suchir Balaji was born to an Indian-American family and grew up in Cupertino, California. He studied Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley, between 2017 and 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Balaji showed exceptional talent from a young age, excelling in programming contests. He placed 31st in the ACM ICPC 2018 World Finals and won first place in the 2017 Pacific Northwest Regional and Berkeley Programming Contests.
His passion for artificial intelligence began in his teens after encountering a news story about the technology. In an October interview with The New York Times, he mentioned imagining how neural networks could address humanity’s greatest challenges.
Balaji worked at OpenAI for four years and contributed to the development of the company’s AI models. For one and a half years, he focused on gathering and organising massive datasets of internet data to build ChatGPT.
“Suchir’s contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn’t have succeeded without him,” OpenAI co-founder John Schulman wrote in a social media post memorialising Balaji. Schulman, who had recruited him, praised his attention to detail and his knack for spotting subtle bugs or logical flaws.
Later, Balaji shifted to organising the datasets of writings and media that trained GPT-4, OpenAI’s flagship large language model. However, this work led him to question the ethics of the technology, particularly after lawsuits by newspapers, novelists, and others accused AI companies of copyright infringement.
Balaji raised his concerns in an interview with The New York Times, which featured him in an October 2024 profile. That same month, he left OpenAI and publicly accused the company of violating copyright laws by scraping internet data for training AI models.
I recently participated in a NYT story about fair use and generative AI, and why I'm skeptical "fair use" would be a plausible defense for a lot of generative AI products. I also wrote a blog post (https://t.co/xhiVyCk2Vk) about the nitty-gritty details of fair use and why I…
— Suchir Balaji (@suchirbalaji) October 23, 2024
On November 18, he was named in a court filing as someone with potentially “unique and relevant documents” supporting allegations of OpenAI’s copyright infringement.
Further, his records were sought in a separate lawsuit brought by book authors, including comedian Sarah Silverman.
Following his death, allegations of foul play gained traction. Elon Musk , in response to a post by Balaji’s mother Poornima Rao on X, wrote, “This doesn’t seem like a suicide.”
OpenAI’s statement
OpenAI has rejected concerns regarding copyright infringement, stating that its AI models are trained on “publicly available data, in a manner protected by fair use and related principles, and supported by long-standing and widely accepted legal precedents.”
Addressing Suchir Balaji’s death, the company released a statement expressing their grief. OpenAI said it was “devastated to learn this incredibly sad news.”
With inputs from agencies
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