According to one of the family’s attorneys, Kevin Rooney, the past three months have been a nightmare for them, as reported by Fox News Digital. Just before his passing, Suchir Balaji was described as cheerful and enjoying a trip to Catalina Island for his 26th birthday with friends. The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 31, portrays Balaji as a gifted individual with a keen interest and talent in coding. He had studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and later worked as an AI researcher at OpenAI.
Balaji played a vital role in OpenAI’s efforts to collect and structure internet data for training GPT-4, a widely used language model in the company’s chatbot, ChatGPT. However, by August 2024, he grew disillusioned with OpenAI’s business practices and opted to depart for personal projects. A New York Times article in October featured Balaji, where he accused OpenAI of breaking the law.
Balaji’s parents, Poornima Ramarao and Bajami Ramamurthy, claim that their inquiries into their son’s death were unjustly denied under the California Public Records Act. They also feel that investigators disregarded Balaji’s whistleblower status concerns. Rooney suggested that although certain details in a criminal case may not be disclosed for valid reasons, the family should still be kept informed about the investigation’s progress.
The lawsuit alleges that when Ms. Ramarao mentioned her son’s whistleblower status against OpenAI, the medical examiner’s representative declined to provide further information and promptly handed her the keys to Balaji’s apartment. The representative reportedly mentioned that Balaji’s face had been affected by a bullet, implying a conclusion of suicide and closure of the investigation.
“Dr. Joseph Cohen, a forensic pathologist who was hired by Balaji’s parents, conducted a private autopsy. He observed that the gunshot wound sustained by Balaji was described as “atypical and uncommon in suicides.” In addition to this, the 26-year-old individual also displayed a contusion on the back of his head, as indicated in the complaint. Cohen further pointed out that the bullet’s trajectory was downward, with a slight left-to-right angle, and noted that the bullet missed the brain entirely before perforating and getting lodged in the brain stem. Upon discovering these details, Fox News Digital contacted OpenAI for their input on the matter. The original article that highlighted these events revolves around the lawsuit filed by the parents of a Big Tech whistleblower, who are raising concerns about the unexpected demise of their son.”
