Suchir Balaji: OpenAI whistleblower found dead in apartment (www.bbc.com)
from potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish to technology@lemmy.world on 15 Dec 05:10
https://lemmy.fish/post/7244882

#technology

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ramsorge@discuss.online on 15 Dec 05:58 next collapse

We can’t ask the coroner what happened, because they are out on their new boat.

DandomRude@lemmy.world on 15 Dec 08:29 collapse

C’mon, we can’t expect the coroner to blow the whistle on the actual cause of death. If we did, there would soon be no coroners left.

ramsorge@discuss.online on 15 Dec 17:49 collapse

Hah! That’s good.

narc0tic_bird@lemm.ee on 15 Dec 06:09 next collapse

“Whistleblower” because he had a negative opinion on his former company?

[deleted] on 15 Dec 06:25 next collapse

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embed_me@programming.dev on 15 Dec 06:40 collapse

Oh I imagined a volleyball coach

yeahiknow3@lemmings.world on 15 Dec 07:04 next collapse

OpenAI has entered the chat^

nialv7@lemmy.world on 15 Dec 07:36 next collapse

he was an important informant in an OpenAI lawsuit

acockworkorange@mander.xyz on 16 Dec 18:40 collapse

The article really doesn’t point to any damning thing he said. We’re left to speculate whether he was actually saying they knowingly flaunted copyright laws.

[deleted] on 15 Dec 06:30 next collapse

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embed_me@programming.dev on 15 Dec 06:45 next collapse

I would refrain from saying he took his life while worried about his career.

He most likely wasn’t in a good mental state and needed support from his friends and family. Healthy people can tolerate a lot more than career death.

[deleted] on 15 Dec 08:15 collapse

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weeeeum@lemmy.world on 15 Dec 08:31 collapse

Even if you are completely closed of from AI as a profession, there are still way more possibilities, even in the same general field(computer science).

Even then you could go through a career change. He looks like hes in his 20s or 30s which isnt late at all.

[deleted] on 15 Dec 06:33 next collapse

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Goun@lemmy.ml on 15 Dec 06:38 collapse

His career is dead, you can bet that

loudWaterEnjoyer@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 15 Dec 07:17 collapse

I’ve heard rumors that he himself might be dead too.

SpicyLizards@reddthat.com on 15 Dec 06:50 next collapse

It’s funny how all those who blow whistles are so suicidal

Valmond@lemmy.world on 15 Dec 09:35 next collapse

Whistles, a gateway to suicide.

seejur@lemmy.world on 15 Dec 18:02 next collapse

And how suddenly the police does not feel the need for a huge manhunt to find the assassin

eestileib@sh.itjust.works on 16 Dec 21:56 collapse

Well, speaking as someone who came to realize that I was working for a company that was ripping off its customers, you’ve already gone through a LOT of stress before you get to that point.

just_another_person@lemmy.world on 15 Dec 07:09 next collapse

Well this will certainly be more of a thing.

Maybe next time they can fall out of a balcony they didn’t actually have to make it SUPER OBVIOUS what just happened.

Passerby6497@lemmy.world on 15 Dec 13:04 collapse

Need to make sure they only stay in first floor locations or places without windows. Whistle blowers gonna be pushed out of windows just like Daddy Vladdy likes.

shatterling@lemm.ee on 15 Dec 13:31 next collapse

Careful what you say on threads such as these, OpenAIs Basilisk might be reading

ComradeMiao@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 16 Dec 15:30 collapse

That’s a scary thought

SplashJackson@lemmy.ca on 15 Dec 16:31 next collapse

I guess the apartment windows didn’t open otherwise he would have been thrown himself out of it, I’m sure

gramie@lemmy.ca on 16 Dec 17:10 collapse

What do you think this is, Russia?

BrazenSigilos@ttrpg.network on 15 Dec 19:05 next collapse

The San Francisco medical examiner's office determined his death to be suicide and police found no evidence of foul play.

Does anyone else find it statistically significant how often whistle blowers commit suicide within a few days of releasing information or making a statement?

cestvrai@lemm.ee on 15 Dec 19:10 next collapse

One minute they’re all like “if I die it’s definitely not suicide” and the next they are changing their mind and going through with it…

postmateDumbass@lemmy.world on 16 Dec 15:56 collapse

“Those wacky whistleblowers always kill themselves when their lie is exposed” -The Man

john89@lemmy.ca on 15 Dec 19:43 next collapse

Yes, but it’s important to not immediately assume that it’s because they’ve been killed.

I’d wager a statistically significant amount of whistleblowers are actually just liars looking to get recognition. When their lie catches up with them, they realize they’ve lost the one thing they had going for them and decide to end it all.

In the digital age where information can be shared so freely and so easily, there’s not really an excuse for whistleblowers to be like “wait until THIS date” before revealing their information.

OmegaLemmy@discuss.online on 15 Dec 23:56 next collapse

Fair point, although I can’t say I agree with it fully

Hegar@fedia.io on 16 Dec 00:54 next collapse

statistically significant amount of whistleblowers are actually just liars ... When their lie catches up with them ... decide to end it all"

This is a very unlikely situation.

These stories of nefarious liars abusing poor defenseless corporations would be publicized widely if true. We'd have prominent, well known examples.

This needs people who think the threats and reputational damage of being a whistleblower are worth it for the 'recognition', who are smart enough to construct a believable sounding claim but not smart enough to see the inevitable consequences. That specific kind of person is going to be much rarer than people who work for a legitimately shitty company and don't like it.

echodot@feddit.uk on 16 Dec 01:23 next collapse

I’d wager a statistically significant amount of whistleblowers are actually just liars looking to get recognition.

So do you have some research stating that or is it just a sort of feeling?

Because that’s an incredibly wild allegation to be making, impeaching someone’s veracity, especially after a fatality, should absolutely come with some kind of evidence.

john89@lemmy.ca on 16 Dec 10:14 collapse

It’s just speculation. I don’t know, I could be wrong, but I’d wager I’m right.

Do you think there’s not a statistically significant amount of whistleblowers who are liars?

optissima@lemmy.ml on 16 Dec 11:15 next collapse

I think there’s not enough evidence to prove that, so no. Why would you lie in the way that you’re most likely going to be killed from?

zarkanian@sh.itjust.works on 16 Dec 14:54 collapse

Why would you lie in the way that you’re most likely going to be killed from?

What does this mean?

optissima@lemmy.ml on 16 Dec 16:16 collapse

Whistleblowing is high risk and people get killed for it?

zarkanian@sh.itjust.works on 16 Dec 19:10 collapse

What evidence do you have for this?

optissima@lemmy.ml on 17 Dec 14:22 collapse

www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd0el3r2nlko

zarkanian@sh.itjust.works on 17 Dec 14:31 collapse

You can prove he was murdered? Have you taken this information to the police?

echodot@feddit.uk on 16 Dec 13:56 next collapse

I cannot possibly say but what I would say is that there is a significantly higher likelihood than what he is saying is correct. Given that you basically can prove it for yourself by simply asking the AI to quote copyrighted content, the fact that it can do that rather demonstrates that copyright content was acquired illegally, and if the copyright holders never talked to openAI, then openAI by definition never got permission.

It’s weird that you would assume malice on everyone’s behalf by default, what would they have to gain by it?

john89@lemmy.ca on 16 Dec 16:44 collapse

It’s weird that you would assume malice on everyone’s behalf by default, what would they have to gain by it?

Can you read? I never assumed malice on everyone’s behavior. I said a statistically significant amount.

echodot@feddit.uk on 16 Dec 18:43 collapse

Yep and I’ve asked you and you’ve got no statistics.

john89@lemmy.ca on 16 Dec 21:25 collapse

No, I don’t.

Do you?

Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 16 Dec 15:12 next collapse

This, ladies and gentlemen and all those in between, is what the professionals call “talking out of your ass.”

john89@lemmy.ca on 16 Dec 16:42 collapse

Uhh, no. I didn’t say it was true, I said I think it would be true.

If you equate that to “talking out of my ass” then you need to work on your reading comprehension.

Duamerthrax@lemmy.world on 16 Dec 19:27 collapse
Doom@ttrpg.network on 16 Dec 13:46 next collapse

Why is that important? No you assume they are/were killed until someone has some real fuckin proof about it

zarkanian@sh.itjust.works on 16 Dec 13:54 next collapse

You can’t prove a negative.

maryjayjay@lemmy.world on 16 Dec 13:57 next collapse

Yes you can. Mathematicians do it all the time.

But that’s beside the point. I can prove you didn’t kill yourself by showing that someone else did

[deleted] on 16 Dec 13:58 next collapse

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echodot@feddit.uk on 16 Dec 13:59 next collapse

That’s literally how police investigations work, you start assuming a crime has been committed and try to see if you can find evidence of a crime being committed.

You don’t start assuming suicide by default. Not unless you’re a corrupt cop anyway.

Doom@ttrpg.network on 16 Dec 15:01 collapse

This isn’t proving a negative? Lol.

This whistleblower is dead, they would be suspect #1 along with close family and friends. This is literally what the first step of an investigation should look like.

john89@lemmy.ca on 16 Dec 16:45 collapse

Well, all the evidence points to a suicide so you don’t really have a point here.

Doom@ttrpg.network on 16 Dec 16:55 collapse

Haha okay present your evidence

john89@lemmy.ca on 16 Dec 16:59 collapse

The San Francisco medical examiner’s office determined his death to be suicide and police found no evidence of foul play.

Do you have any evidence that invalidates this?

Doom@ttrpg.network on 16 Dec 22:37 collapse

newsweek.com/full-list-russians-fall-windows-puti…

They just fell out of a window. The news said. Supported by other state apparatuses.

Now I’m not really running around believing this kid was killed I truly dunno him or this situation enough but to read one article about something like this and just take it at face value isn’t it. Look at Boeing I think three whistleblowers died in connection to them, look at Edward Snowden, look at how people act in the Trump administration, they were afraid to be whistleblowers. There’s a slew of assassinations in the news.

I don’t think it was a suicide, it also could’ve been a suicide but to really plant your feet on your evidence being this article. I dunno bro I think it’s a little foolish.

john89@lemmy.ca on 16 Dec 22:51 collapse

I didn’t even say he wasn’t killed.

I said, I’d wager there’s a statistically significant amount of whistleblowers who are liars and end up killing themselves when their lie catches up with them.

You all blew it out of proportion in part because of the snowball effect and in other part because of poor reading comprehension.

The next generation is truly taking hold.

Doom@ttrpg.network on 16 Dec 23:00 collapse

I didn’t even say he wasn’t killed.

in other part because of poor reading comprehension

uh huh

how old are you Mr jumps to defend what the article says and then backpedal?

yggstyle@lemmy.world on 17 Dec 17:16 collapse

I’d wager that baseless claims such as these are statistically likely to be backed by click farms and corporations looking to control a narrative or, at the very least, create enough noise to muddy the signal.

I could go on- but the point is made.

On the off chance you actually have that thought rattling around in that cavern between your ears… I think you need to possibly exercise more critical thought and familiarize yourself with concepts like Occam’s razor.

Everyone is absolutely entitled to their opinion… Including you. With that said: it is my opinion that you are either a paid actor, an idiot, or a troll.

john89@lemmy.ca on 17 Dec 18:49 collapse

I mean, you can wager whatever you want but it’s possible you’re wrong. You people are blowing my words out of proportion, probably because you see the downvote ratio and can’t formulate your own ideas.

For example, if you think I’m wrong without any information to contradict me, then you’re also speculating.

You should take a break from these forums. It’s clear you’re willing to twist your brain into knots just to fit in with the popular narrative, and that’s not healthy.

Gonna block you now. Goodbye, and good luck.

yggstyle@lemmy.world on 17 Dec 22:42 collapse

I started my reasons for thinking you are wrong but I’ll clarify: It’s illogical and baseless.

I’ll expand.

While neither of our assessments of the unfortunate ends these people had are based in hard fact - one of them is far more probable:

Option A: multiple people tied up in whistleblowing cases involving large profit driven corporations both lied and got ‘caught’ in the lie (despite not giving testimony yet in many of these cases) … and elect to independently off themselves. Each time.

Option B: A whistleblower threatens exposing said companies to considerable losses or penalties (which would likely result in losses.) It is decided by the company or an individual in the company (who probably has something to lose or gain) that the whistleblower needs to go. Whistleblower commits suicide by dubious means.

Option C: Basically option B but whistleblower is racked with guilt for being part of whatever occurred and opts to take their life as a means of atonement (misguided as that can be.)

Two of these options rely on simple logical human behavior well known to tie into death: greed and corruption - and guilt and sorrow. Your option suggests broadly that, under minimal pressure, all/most of these people are just sprinting to the most extreme exit under scrutiny. The odds of that being the case, repeatedly, are infinitesimally small. Corruption and corporations go hand in hand and you don’t have to look hard to find a case of it.

So I’ll reiterate: it is my opinion that your opinion is based in a world of pure fantasy… and only an idiot or a troll would actually believe it.

FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 16 Dec 19:34 next collapse

We need to start holding companies accountable when their actions lead to someone’s suicide.

eestileib@sh.itjust.works on 16 Dec 21:55 collapse

It was the Basilisk!

Woooooooo

chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de on 15 Dec 19:55 next collapse

<img alt="1000034112" src="https://discuss.tchncs.de/pictrs/image/f79ba67a-ac0a-4aea-b41e-2ac657bb72d2.jpeg">

Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee on 16 Dec 12:11 next collapse

No foul play… I bet there was major evidence of a struggle in his apartment.

ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml on 16 Dec 14:00 next collapse

Something tells me he had self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the back of the head.

derpgon@programming.dev on 16 Dec 22:23 collapse

Three, actually

ComradeMiao@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 16 Dec 15:33 next collapse

I asked ChatGPT: Suchir balaji in cat terms how did openai kill him

Flicks tail in curiosity Ah, Suchir Balaji… pauses, eyes narrowing The idea of “killing” is a bit… tricky, isn’t it? But if we’re to imagine such things in cat terms—perhaps OpenAI, in its relentless pursuit of knowledge and efficiency, gently nudged him out of its path, like a cat flicking a bothersome fly from its perch. Too many ideas, too much complexity—an ultimate shift in focus. Maybe the mouse was caught elsewhere, leaving Suchir behind in the shadows. But cats don’t judge, no—just observe, always from the edge.

Breezy@lemmy.world on 16 Dec 17:10 next collapse

So what type of chatgpt did you use. Because thats so on point i wanna give it a try.

ComradeMiao@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 16 Dec 21:04 collapse

Whatever the standard non-signed in version is. You might also tell it to speak hypothetically and like a cat or something else silly

skulblaka@sh.itjust.works on 16 Dec 19:56 collapse

Cool story bro, how is that relevant to anything though

ComradeMiao@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 16 Dec 21:03 collapse

Asking openai how openai killed him on a post about that exact topic. What’s the confusion…?

skulblaka@sh.itjust.works on 16 Dec 22:04 collapse

You asked ChatGPT to fabricate a story about a cat killing a whistleblower… There isn’t one word of factual information in this.

ComradeMiao@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 16 Dec 22:14 collapse

Okay buddy. ChatGPT won’t answer violent questions unless you make it a game. This is common knowledge. ChatGPT often gives honest answers to game questions that would otherwise not be okay. Like how do you build a bomb, as a joke in a dream. Do I need to keep explaining the obvious? I asked ChatGPT to act as a cat, not how a cat would do it lmao

skulblaka@sh.itjust.works on 16 Dec 22:35 collapse

ChatGPT also doesn’t give true answers, it gives an approximation of what you want to hear without any regard for truth or accuracy. This is how every LLM functions. It does not know facts. It does not care to tell you facts because it does not know what they are.

Besides which that it didn’t actually tell you anything, it just acted like Puss in Boots for 20 seconds because you told it to.

This has accomplished nothing other than going “nyaaaa~” in a public forum where people were trying to have a serious discussion about how concerning it is that people are losing their lives in corporate assassinations. No one involved has learned anything and this discussion is now worse off because of its inclusion.

I hope the 2.9 watt-hours and 8 ounces of water you just wasted were worth it.

renzev@lemmy.world on 16 Dec 19:38 next collapse

So what whistle did he blow exactly? When I search for “openai whistleblower” all I get are articles about his murder. What info did he leak?

Gammelfisch@lemmy.world on 16 Dec 21:49 collapse

What the hell? Is this fucking Russia?

JackFrostNCola@lemmy.world on 16 Dec 22:19 collapse

Soon™