Economist and author Sanjeev Sanyal on Thursday said that Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who was found dead in November last year at his apartment, was very likely threatening something beyond just the copyright, and perhaps more than what even he understood. "(It) needs a very thorough investigation," he said in a tweet.
Sanyal's post came after US journalist Tucker Carlson shared a podcast with Balaji's mother Poornima Ramarao, who claims that her son was murdered and wants a thorough probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Sharing the podcast on X, Tucker Carlson wrote: "Suchir Balaji worked as an engineer for Sam Altman building AI, until he decided that Altman was committing crimes. Balaji became a whistleblower, and soon after was found dead in his apartment."
During the conversation, Carlson said that it appeared that Suchir ran into trouble only when he began to question whether or not the data that was being fed to OpenAI was copyrighted.
Ramarao said that Suchir never raised the voice when he was within OpenAI because he had concerns that management would not approve. "And he started to question all these when ChatGPT became profit-making. He explains in his publication why he believes this is a copyright violation. It was very ethical and he felt awful about it."
According to Ramarao, Suchir left OpenAI in August 2024. "On 23rd October, his interview was published in The New York Times where he makes an open statement and he calls open AI violates copyright data. He died on 22nd November but we found the body on 26th November. On November 18th, The New York Times named my son as custodian witness. Custodian witness is very important. He had the documents against OpenAI. On 22nd, he just came back from vacation from Catalina Island. The same night they attacked him and killed him."
Ramarao told Carlson that when Suchir was in Catalina Islands, he spoke a lot against Sam Altman. "He literally didn't like him (Altman). I've seen his chat log saying that he wanted to work with Ann Altman in her nonprofit work. He knew what personality Sam Alman had. And his main concerns were the lies (of Altman). My son is very ethical and he couldn't stand it."
Speaking on why she felt it was a murder, Ramarao said that from the very start, she sensed foul play. "Our attorney came to his (Suchir's) apartment with us. And the moment he inspected his apartment, he said he (Sucir) had fresh supplies ordered, he has so many packets unopened, this doesn't look suicidal at all."
The official autopsy demonstrates that the bullet was fired at a downward angle. "Someone cannot shoot themselves (from that angle)," Ramarao said. "He (Suchir) was made to sit, someone standing shot him down. In fact, my husband and I are going to create a virtual reality once we get all the evidence. we'll create a virtual reality video and present it to the court what exactly happened to him at that moment."
According to Ramaro, Suchir also had another head injury not caused by a bullet. "It appeared to us that from his fallen toothpick and blood in the sink, he was brushing his teeth before going to bed. He was attacked from behind on the head. That's why this fallen dustbin, this fallen toothpick, and his earbud has fallen in two different directions because of the head impact."
"And we believe after that, he was either electrocuted or he was paralyzed from the head injury. And then they just held him up, made him sit, and shot him. We are waiting for further reports, but gunshot wound is not the cause of death. And probably they might have suffocated him. We don't have any details of that cruelty but we waiting for further reports," she told Carlson. "There was also a piece of a wig on the ground covered in blood that was not Suchir's wig."
Suchir was found dead in his Buchanan Street apartment in San Francisco on November 26, Thanksgiving Day. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide, and police stated there was "no evidence of foul play." However, his mother, Ramarao, has vehemently disputed this claim, describing it as a "cold-blooded murder".
Balaji was a highly accomplished programmer and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. He excelled in prestigious programming competitions, including securing top positions at the ACM ICPC World Finals in 2018. Before his tenure at OpenAI, Balaji worked with leading tech companies such as Scale AI, Helia, and Quora. At OpenAI, he played a key role in the development of ChatGPT.