2026-10-09 The Verge (5:48 AM ET): Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak
and Mikita Balesni dismissed after an investigation found "a
significant breach of trust" — violations of "clear policies on
handling sensitive information." The trio responded with an open
letter; OpenAI posted on X Friday standing firm: the decision was
"not about the trio speaking out about the company and their
concerns about AI safety." Context the letter will be read
against: Robinson's Oct 3 resignation + "fundamentally broken"
critique; the incident-response machinery weeks old
(openai-agent-incidents); the Verge's Sep 30 FTC-investigation
report still unverified.
Background
The thread: OpenAI's dismissal of three safety researchers and the
retaliation dispute around it — the record's first involuntary
safety-side exits (voluntary exodus strand lives in
risk-governance: Coxon, Robinson, O'Callahan, Chughtai, Engels,
Benton).
Watch: the letter's full text and specific claims; what the
"sensitive information" was and which investigation it tied to;
whether the firings connect to incident-review work or reporting;
government/press follow-up; whether any policy (not just press)
instrument engages the retaliation question.