Mikita Balesni
ON THE RECORD · 8 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“This is part of what made OpenAI special, and why we are immensely proud to have been part of the team.”
Mikita Balesni · said 2026-10-08 · reported 2026-10-09
The trio wrote in an open letter that open safety discourse was part of what made OpenAI special.
“It is that culture we are writing to defend,”
Mikita Balesni · said 2026-10-08 · reported 2026-10-09
The trio stated in their open letter that they were writing to defend OpenAI's culture of open safety discourse.
“I believe we were fired for prioritizing safety over the near-term interests of OpenAI as a corporation,”
Mikita Balesni · said 2026-10-08 · reported 2026-10-09
Balesni made the statement in a post on X after being dismissed from OpenAI the prior week.
“Terminations such as ours, executed and communicated so abruptly, are chilling the open culture OpenAI has prized in the past.”
Mikita Balesni · said 2026-10-08 · reported 2026-10-09
The trio said their abrupt terminations were chilling the open culture OpenAI had previously prized.
“afraid to speak and operate in ways that, until last week, were an integral part of working at OpenAI”
Mikita Balesni · said 2026-10-08 · reported 2026-10-09
Balesni, Korbak and Wang expressed in an open letter that their dismissal would make former colleagues afraid to speak openly.
“if the people closest to the risks can no longer work in high-trust, high-bandwidth ways with each other and with third parties”
Mikita Balesni · said 2026-10-08 · reported 2026-10-09
The three former employees wrote in an open letter that AI could not be developed safely if those closest to the risks could not work in high-trust ways.
“Given the significant safety concerns surrounding the development of AI, employees must not be left working in an environment where fear and unclear rules stymie AI safety work and weaken third-party accountability,”
Mikita Balesni · said 2026-10-08 · reported 2026-10-09
The trio said employees must not work in an environment where fear and unclear rules stymie AI safety work.
“We could raise safety concerns and disagree openly, and were encouraged to draw on the expertise of independent safety organizations,”
Mikita Balesni · said 2026-10-08 · reported 2026-10-09
The trio stated in an open letter that staff were previously encouraged to raise safety concerns and engage independent safety organizations.