# OpenAI defends firing three safety researchers who dispute its explanation

_Published Friday, October 9, 2026 at 4:40 PM EDT · AI · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

OpenAI said Friday it fired three safety researchers for violating policies on sensitive information. Tomek Korbak, Jasmine Wang and Mikita Balesni accused the company of prioritizing corporate interests over safety and urged its oversight groups to preserve third-party monitoring.

Korbak said his dismissal concerned communications with independent evaluator METR. OpenAI disputed their account and said the firings were unrelated to raising safety concerns.

## Sources

- [Fast Company](https://www.fastcompany.com/91621657/openai-chatgpt-ai-artificial-intelligence-safety)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/DWpJf7-J-DCaYcDxCa8fEc
Published: 2026-10-09T20:40:05.854Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-09T19:59:08.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-09T23:44:25.337Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)