New Delhi:
OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, killed my son to hide something they don't want anyone to know, says Poornima Rao, mother of whistleblower and former OpenAI researcher Suchir Balaji. He had documents against them and what they are up to, she said in her latest rant against the tech giant.
In an explosive interview with American commentator Tucker Carlson, Ms Rao made a number of stunning claims and serious accusations about her son's death and the opacity and secrecy in the world of artificial intelligence.
Suchir Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment in November, shortly after becoming a whistleblower against AI giant OpenAI. He had publicly raised ethical concerns about the ChatGPT creator's practices before his death. After an initial investigation, authorities concluded that his death was an act of suicide. However, his family has since called for an FBI investigation, highlighting several wrongdoings and claiming Balaji was murdered.
In the interview, Ms. Rao recalled that the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner declared that her son had died by suicide. However, when they asked her if she felt he could have committed suicide and if he had been depressed recently, she told them, “My son celebrated his birthday a day before he died. What else should we say because he was in a crisis? happy mood?” She added that he even received his birthday gift from his father on the same day he was later found dead.
Making a serious allegation against OpenAI, Ms Rao said that “my son had documents against OpenAI. They attacked and killed him”, adding that “some documents were missing” after his death.
She further accused the ChatGPT creator of hushing up the investigation and any witnesses, saying: “Everyone is being oppressed, no one is willing to come forward and tell the truth. Even the lawyers have to say it's suicide is.”
Elon Musk shared Suchir Balaji's mother's interview with Tucker Carlson on his X-handle, calling it “extremely concerning.”
Very worrying
pic.twitter.com/ze1mmlIMdD— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025
Suchir Balaji's mother continued her tirade against OpenAI, accusing authorities of an inconclusive response and botched investigation, saying, “It took them (authorities) more than 14 minutes to determine the cause of death and find me tell them it was suicide.”
She even criticized the police for holding onto information and not being transparent about it. “I knew my son was dead just by looking at the white van,” she said, adding that police continued to make excuses to delay the information. “In the evening they gave me the keys back and said I could pick up the body tomorrow,” she said.
In an earlier post on social media platform She also claimed that blood stains were found. “Someone hit him in the bathroom. There were bloodstains,” she said, concluding that “it was a cold-blooded murder that was declared a suicide by authorities.”
Suchir Balaji worked at OpenAI for almost four years. He resigned in August 2023 after expressing dissatisfaction with the company's shift to a for-profit model. According to his mother, this shift was a key factor in his decision to leave and become a whistleblower. He had even given an interview to the DailyExpertNews expressing his concerns about the ChatGpt creator.
San Francisco police have reportedly reopened the case as an “active investigation” but have not shared any further details. Meanwhile, Suchir Balaji's parents have said, “We demand that the FBI intervene to find out the truth.”