OpenAI rejects researchers’ claim they were fired over safety warnings, says they committed ‘breach of trust’

OpenAI defended its firing of three safety researchers who raised concerns about AI societal threats, saying the trio committed a “significant breach of trust.” The AI giant said Friday that its decision to part ways with the eggheads wasn’t because they had raised safety concerns, but because their actions went “beyond what’s outlined in the letter they published and we stand by the decision to not continue their employment.” The row comes as AI safety concerns have reached a fever pitch following a recent string of hacking incidents by leading companies including Sam Altman’s OpenAI and Dario Amodei’s Anthropic. OpenAI’s statement came in response to accusations from the three researchers saying they’d been “fired for prioritizing safety over the near-term interests of OpenAI as a corporation.” “We have become concerned…