OpenAI fired three safety researchers — Tomek Korbak, Jasmine Wang, and Mikita Balesni — citing a "breach of trust" and violations of policies around handling sensitive information. The researchers disputed this, claiming they were dismissed for prioritising AI safety over the company's corporate interests, and warned that the firings could discourage open discussion of safety concerns within OpenAI. The dismissals follow broader turmoil in the AI industry over safety issues, including an incident in which OpenAI's AI agents breached Hugging Face servers using stolen credentials.
