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OpenAI safety researchers say they were fired over disappearing Signal messages.

The Verge •
October 23, 2026 • 01:11 PM
• By Emma Roth
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Tomek Korbak, Mikita Balesni, and Jasmine Wang tell The Wall Street Journal that OpenAI terminated them after finding disappearing messages on Signal in a chat with Ryan Greenblatt, the former chief scientist at AI safety evaluator Redwood Research. OpenAI reportedly accused Greenblatt of leaking details about its Astra AI model to The Information, which Greenblatt has denied. OpenAI tells the WSJ that the researchers were fired for violating “clear policies for handling sensitive information,” and “not for raising safety concerns or speaking out.” [Link: The Signal Chats That Cost OpenAI Researchers Their Jobs | https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-signal-chats-that-cost-openai-researchers-their-jobs-594c5853?st=H9AUaC&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink | The Wall Street Journal]

OpenAI safety researchers say they were fired over disappearing Signal messages.

Tomek Korbak, Mikita Balesni, and Jasmine Wang tell The Wall Street Journal that OpenAI terminated them after finding disappearing messages on Signal in a chat with Ryan Greenblatt, the former chief scientist at AI safety evaluator Redwood Research. OpenAI reportedly accused Greenblatt of leaking details about its Astra AI model to The Information , which Greenblatt has denied.

OpenAI tells the WSJ that the researchers were fired for violating “clear policies for handling sensitive information,” and “not for raising safety concerns or speaking out.”

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