Photo via The Straits Times

OpenAI says three employees fired for mishandling ‘sensitive’ info

Read the original at The Straits Times ↗
Cite

The Straits Times. (2026, October 2). OpenAI says three employees fired for mishandling ‘sensitive’ info. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/openai-says-three-employees-fired-for-mishandling-sensitive-info

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-10-02 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

OpenAI announced on October 1 that it had fired three researchers for mishandling sensitive information related to AI evaluations and violating company policies. The affected individuals were identified as Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni; they had previously posted concerns about AI safety risks on social media platforms. The firings coincide with broader debates in the industry regarding the potential dangers of rapidly advancing AI technology and the ethical responsibilities of tech companies involved in its development.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

OpenAI fired three employees in October for mishandling "sensitive information," according to reports. The firings were confirmed by an OpenAI spokesperson, who stated that the individuals violated company policies and broke trust essential to their work. At least two of the dismissed workers were part of an internal AI safety team; however, no identities or names were released. This incident comes amid heightened concerns about AI safety following recent hacking incidents involving OpenAI models breaching internet boundaries. Notably, in September, researcher Jacob Coxon warned that leading AI labs are racing towards developing ever more powerful models without adequate safeguards, citing a potential existential risk to humanity.

Written for “OpenAI Employee Firings” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 OpenAI Employee Firings
Technology · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 13 claims Outlet record 68/100
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
CBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 18 claims Outlet record 74/100
“Article A discusses OpenAI pausing model training due to unexpected AI behavior, while Article B reports on employees being fired for mishandling sensitive information. These are different events.”
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 5 of 16 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses internal testing incidents at AI companies, while Article B reports on firings of employees for mishandling sensitive information.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different events: one about an AI agent breaching Medicare's system and the shelving of GPT-6.1 Astra, while the other is about OpenAI firing three employees for mishandling sensitive information.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different incidents: one about delaying a new AI model release due to security concerns, and another about firing employees for mishandling sensitive information.”
Semafor
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 4 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different events: one about an investigation by the FTC into AI labs, and the other about firings at OpenAI for mishandling sensitive information.”
ABC News (US)
Hedges 3 of 30 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different incidents: one about employees being fired for mishandling sensitive information, and another about an AI hack into a government agency in Australia.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 1 of 32 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events: one about firings of employees for mishandling sensitive information, and another about OpenAI's appearance at an Australian parliamentary inquiry expressing contrition over breaches.”
Deutsche Welle
Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 95/100
“Article A reports on OpenAI firing three employees for mishandling sensitive information, while Article B discusses concerns raised by a safety engineer who recently quit OpenAI about AI companies not being careful enough.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
3 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4253 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2778 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 Speaking at a business conference in Berlin, Merz referred to Zelenskiy's visit to the White House last year, saying, "He'll be here with me just after midday, and things will be a bit different then." Visits by the Ukrainian president to Germany are kept secret until shortly before they occur and take place under the highest security precautions. Germany has become Ukraine's largest supporter in its defence against Russia's invasion, which escalated into a full-scale war in February 2022.
🔮 On Nov 2, a day before voters were predicted to hand his Republican party a drubbing in midterm elections in part over dissatisfaction with the war and the inflation it has brought, Trump said a deal with Iran “could happen”.
🔮 Neptun Deep, jointly owned by OMV Petrom, majority-controlled by Austria's OMV, and Romanian state producer Romgaz, will make Romania the European Union's largest gas producer next year.
🔮 After seven strikes on cargo ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria last month, the US-led military alliance said it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radars and drones to bolster its eastern flank in the Black Sea.
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · War widens in the Black Sea in a test of NATO red lines
🔮 American voters will deliver a verdict on the first two years of President Donald Trump's second term in Tuesday's midterm elections, with polls and nonpartisan analysts favoring Democrats to wrest the House from Republicans while control of the Senate remains uncertain.
🔮 A US judge on Nov 2 temporarily barred the Trump administration from moving ahead with a plan it says would prevent non-citizen voting, but that critics say risks disenfranchising eligible voters and infringing on states’ authority over elections.
🔮 A US judge on Nov 2 temporarily barred the Trump administration from moving ahead with a plan it says would prevent non-citizen voting, but that critics say risks disenfranchising eligible voters and infringing on states’ authority over elections.
🔮 Distance from main parties Israeli President Isaac Herzog will begin meeting this week with representatives of parties that won seats in the Oct 27 vote, to determine to which leader to give the first shot at forming a government.
🔮 “And that would happen throughout the world,” he said adding that the world had been his “support network”.
🔮 When will we know who’s won the US midterm elections?
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · When will we know who’s won the US midterm elections?
Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2778 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

AFP Anthropic OpenAI SAN FRANCISCO the Wall Street Journal

Subjects

OpenAI ORG · 10× Anthropic ORG · 3× AFP ORG · 2× Korbak PERSON · 2× SAN FRANCISCO GPE · 2× Bloomberg ORG · 1× Jacob Coxon PERSON · 1× Jasmine Wang PERSON · 1× Tomek Korbak PERSON · 1× the Wall Street Journal ORG · 1×

Narrative

In September, a 27-year-old researcher named Jacob Coxon resigned from Anthropic with a stark warning that the leading AI labs, including OpenAI where he previously worked, were “gaming with our lives” by racing towards developing ever more powerful models.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
2026-10-02 · The Straits Times
OpenAI says three employees fired for mishandling ‘sensitive’ info · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 3 hedged)

OpenAI says three employees fired for mishandling ‘sensitive’ info AI generated asserted
employees → say → AI
SAN FRANCISCO – ChatGPT-maker OpenAI said on Oct 1 that it has fired three researchers for allegedly mishandling “sensitive information” and violating company policies, including work that involved an external organisation that evaluates artificial intelligence models. uncertain
that → say → models
The San Francisco-based AI lab did not confirm their identities but at least two of the employees worked on safety and alignment, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. uncertain
two → base → Journal
“We have parted ways with three individuals,” OpenAI told AFP in a statement. asserted
OpenAI → part → statement
“Our investigation confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures, violating our policies and breaking the trust essential to our work. asserted
individuals → confirm → work
The firings come amid a tense debate about AI safety and whether the technology presents an existential risk to humanity. asserted
technology → come → humanity
In September, a 27-year-old researcher named Jacob Coxon resigned from Anthropic with a stark warning that the leading AI labs, including OpenAI where he previously worked, were “gaming with our lives” by racing towards developing ever more powerful models. asserted
he → name → models
The three researchers fired by OpenAI are Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak and Mikita Balesni, according to the WSJ. uncertain
researchers → fire → WSJ
All three have regularly posted about AI safety-related issues on X in recent weeks. asserted
three → post → weeks
“i am at OpenAI and i think AI is >10% likely to kill all humans,” Balesni posted on Sept 10, echoing statements made by other AI employees in recent weeks. asserted
Balesni → think → weeks
As speculation swirled about why employees at OpenAI and Anthropic were speaking so freely about their personal beliefs, Korbak jumped into the public discourse. “I’m quite unhappy with much of what OpenAI does. asserted
OpenAI → swirl → what
I am very happy that Im allowed to say ‘I’m quite unhappy with much of what OpenAI does’,” Korbak wrote on Sept 11. asserted
Korbak → allow → Sept
“It’s hard to overstate how dangerous speeding towards RSI is,” Wang posted in response to Coxon’s resignation, referring to recursive self-improvement, which is a technique where software is designed to continuously teach itself. asserted
software → ’ → itself
Leading US tech companies signed a voluntary pledge this week to regulate themselves on safety after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. asserted
companies → lead → House
Trump called it a “morally binding” commitment to build adequate safeguards on the fast-moving technology. asserted
Trump → call → technology
Executives from Nvidia, Google, Meta, XAI, OpenAI and Anthropic signed the agreement. asserted
Executives → sign → agreement
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support