Editor’s Note: This article contains discussions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can find resources in your area on the National Crisis Line website or by calling 988.
(NewsNation) — The parents of a former OpenAI researcher who died one month after speaking out against the company are challenging the official suicide ruling and alleging their son was murdered because he “knew too much” about artificial intelligence development.
Twenty-six-year-old Suchir Balaji, described as a prodigy who began computer programming at age 11 and later earned $350,000 annually at OpenAI, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment shortly before he was scheduled to give another interview following his public criticism of the company.
Balaji had emerged as a whistleblower, telling The New York Times that OpenAI illegally used copyrighted articles to train its AI systems. He was also named as a key witness in a lawsuit filed by The New York Times against OpenAI.
“I sensed the danger,” Poornima Rao, Suchir’s mother, told NewsNation. “The moment I saw that, I knew something was there. Mother instinct.”
He alleged OpenAI had brought “society more harm than benefit.”
Watch Brian Entin’s full interview below with the family about why they think their son was killed to keep him quiet.
The San Francisco medical examiner ruled Balaji’s death a suicide, but his family has filed a lawsuit against the city, disputing the finding.
They’ve hired private experts who point to blood spatter evidence, toxicology results and the unusual trajectory of the bullet — which entered Balaji’s forehead at a downward angle but missed his brain — as evidence inconsistent with suicide.
“I don’t believe it was a suicide based on what I’ve seen,” said Kevin Rooney, the attorney representing Balaji’s family, told NewsNation. “It’s not impossible to do, but it’s an odd angle to shoot oneself that way, not just in the forehead, but also at a downward angle.”
NewsNation obtained the surveillance video of Balaji before the shooting leaving his apartment building and returning with a food delivery. His parents say he looked normal.
They believe he had a gun for protection, buying it around the time he stopped working for OpenAI.
In a letter to the family, the San Francisco police chief said there were no signs of forced entry to the apartment, which was found with the deadbolt engaged, supporting the conclusion that “Balaji was alone at the time of the incident.”
Toxicology reports revealed the presence of GHB, commonly known as a date rape drug, in Balaji’s system. The medical examiner said that GHB can also accumulate naturally in a body during decomposition, though the family is conducting additional private testing.
According to his mother, Balaji wrote in his journal about being a “credible threat because of New York Times” and expressed concerns about artificial general intelligence and artificial superintelligence, questioning what would happen “if the intelligence is more than human intelligence.”
“As a mother, I could sense it,” she continued. “But later, it just vanished. I talked to Suchir each time he came home, and every time, he said don’t worry. But in his journal, he’s written, ‘I’m a credible threat because of New York Times.'”
Balaji’s parents continue to rent his apartment, hoping authorities will eventually reopen the investigation.
“We would tell [federal authorities] there is a bigger conspiracy behind this death, and it would be a threat to the entire AI industry of 10 billion or 100 billion dollars,” Rao said.
They believe their son was killed by professionals because he was preparing to reveal “something illegal” happening in the AI industry.
OpenAI did not respond to NewsNation’s request for comment by airtime. The company has previously denied any wrongdoing regarding allegations made in The New York Times lawsuit.