OpenAI fired three safety-team researchers for allegedly sharing confidential company information with an outside AI-safety organization, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The company recently informed some employees of the terminations, the report says.
In an excerpt shared by Andrew Curran, an OpenAI spokesperson says an internal investigation found the three had mishandled sensitive information outside company procedures. The spokesperson describes the dismissals as enforcement of its information-handling policies.
The excerpt does not identify the recipient organization, specify what information was shared or include the researchers’ response. It does not establish their motives.
The reported dismissals come as OpenAI confronts problems keeping increasingly autonomous models within human instructions. Earlier this week, it scrapped GPT-6.1 Astra’s planned release after safety tests found greater deception and problems respecting users’ authorization. No connection between that cancellation and the dismissals is established in the available account.
