Chicago, USA: Suchir Balaji, the 26-year-old Indian-origin AI researcher and whistleblower, tragically passed away after reportedly taking his own life in his San Francisco apartment. The police have confirmed the death, which occurred on November 26 at his residence on Buchanan Street.

Balaji had worked at OpenAI for four years, from 2020 to 2024, before leaving the company in August this year. He made headlines in October for making bold and controversial statements about AI. Prior to joining OpenAI, he completed his computer science studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Details regarding his family and background remain undisclosed.

The circumstances of his death, which is suspected to be a suicide, are still under investigation by San Francisco authorities, though there are no indications of foul play.

Elon Musk, who is no stranger to OpenAI's internal conflicts, has shown a cryptic response to the passing of Balaji. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015, parted ways with Altman three years later due to differences. Musk then launched XAI to compete with OpenAI. In response to a tweet regarding Balaji's death, Musk simply replied with "hmm," which has fueled further speculation.

In an interview with The New York Times, Balaji had voiced serious concerns about OpenAI’s practices, particularly its data collection methods, which he described as dangerous for businesses. He also criticized technologies like ChatGPT for potentially undermining the internet and claimed that OpenAI had violated U.S. copyright law in the development of ChatGPT. His death has brought attention back to the ethical and legal dilemmas surrounding AI technology.