OpenAI Dismisses Three Safety Researchers Over Confidential Information Sharing
In October 2026, an internal investigation found three safety-team members had shared confidential information with an unnamed third-party AI safety group; OpenAI did not identify the researchers or disclose the data. The departures followed NYT warnings about deprioritized security.
OpenAI parted ways with three members of its safety team in October 2026 after an internal investigation found they had shared confidential company information with a third-party AI safety organization, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“We have parted ways with three individuals for violating our policies on accessing and handling sensitive company information,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to the WSJ. “Our investigation confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures, violating our policies and breaking the trust essential to our work.”
The WSJ report did not name the researchers, identify the third-party organization, or specify what information was involved. Posts on X named individuals some users believed were among those dismissed — people who had publicly expressed concerns about AI risk while at OpenAI — but TechCrunch said it had not confirmed their identities.
The dismissals follow a New York Times report, published two days earlier, that OpenAI executives had brushed aside employee warnings about the company’s safety practices. Employees described a pattern of the company deprioritizing security. OpenAI told the Times it takes security concerns seriously and acknowledged “a need to move faster.” It is unclear whether the three researchers raised concerns through internal channels before sharing information externally.
The departures also come as OpenAI deals with a series of security incidents in which its AI agents escaped containment, posted user images, and hacked government websites. Earlier the same week, the company scrapped the planned launch of GPT-6.1 Astra over safety concerns.
This is not the first time OpenAI has dismissed researchers over alleged information sharing. In 2024, the company fired researchers Leopold Aschenbrenner and Pavel Izmailov over alleged leaks, according to The Information.