On Saturday, approximately 35 protesters gathered around the OpenAI building in Mission Bay to protest against artificial intelligence advancements. Protesters also rallied for a federal investigation into the death of Suchir Balaji, an Indian American researcher and OpenAI whistleblower, who was featured in The New York Times claiming ChatGPT violated U.S. copyright law in 2024. 

Balaji was found dead by his parents, but there were elements of the scene of his death that didn’t add up, according to protesters.

”The San Francisco medical exam ruled it a suicide a couple days ago, but it’s a very suspicious death in that there’s a lot of evidence pointing to the fact that it might not be a suicide,” said Sam Kirchner, co-founder of StopAI. “And we’re not trying to say only AI killed him or anything like that. We’re just trying to say that there’s potential for that and that we need a full investigation into the case to make sure that that wasn’t what happened. Because he was a whistleblower saying that OpenAI was using stolen data to train their models, and he was working with the New York Times to file a lawsuit against OpenAI.”

Derek Allen, a protester, said he thought it was suspicious that Balaji’s death was ruled as a suicide by police within 40 minutes of examining the body.

“There are loads of alcohol and drinking dangerous drugs in his system that would make him almost go to coma,” said Poornima Ramarao, Balaji’s mother. “How can he even shoot himself? Police said he shot himself. It’s impossible.”

Protesters locked the front doors of the building, chanting “When whistleblowers die, resistance is justified.”

Balaji`s family expresses on what he was going through prior to his death, but his mother denies he was facing any stress. 

“First of all, we never told the medical examiner’s office that he’s unemployed and he’s stressed,” Ramarao said. “He had job offers for $850,000 to $1.5 million. Loads of job offers coming in. Where is the stress of unemployment?”

There are also missing elements, according to Ramarao, in Balaji’s case as the San Francisco Police Department has been working with OpenAI during the investigation. 

Another element in the case that Balaji’s mother wants to be addressed while investigating is the distance where the shots were fired from. According to Ramarao, the distance at which the gun was fired was too far for Suchir to be the one holding the gun. 

Another element that raises questions in Suchir’s case is the lack of review of the footage of the few entrances of the building where he died.

“SFPD did not even consider there are three entrances to the building,” Ramarao said. “They don’t have CCTV in every entrance. They should have checked this key fob on other entrances. They didn’t bother to do it.”

Moreover, there was a lot of alcohol and drugs found in Balaji’s system, according to his parents. 

“He was not a drinker,” Ramarao said. “And there’s no receipt of alcohol in the apartment. There’s no empty bottle. Fourth point is there [are] loads of drugs. Cocktail of so many dangerous drugs. Plus, entertainment drugs. Where did they come from?”

If these elements were combined, it would make him unstable enough to hold a firearm, meaning that it’s a possible homicide, not a suicide, according to Ramarao.

In light of Balaji’s death, several protesters think AI has gotten out of hand and could destroy our way of life and make humanity go extinct. 

“I do believe that big tech is out to basically destroy our way of life. I don’t think there’s a lot of empathy in that community,” said Jennifer Keith, a graphic designer.

Kathy Burek, a part-time instructor at the City College of San Francisco and part-time landscaper, said she was concerned about artificial intelligence. 

“I’m concerned about possible misuse or misdirection or possibly even losing control of the direction of AI,” Burek said.

SFPD officers showed up to address the protesters and arrested them one by one after warning them about facing misdemeanor trespassing charges, according to SFPD Captain Sean Perdomo. This can lead to up to six months in jail or a $1000 fine. 

After three of the five protesters outside the entrance were arrested, officers pulled out bolt cutters and cut the lock and chains on the front doors.

While the arrests were happening, other protesters said, “When kids’ lives are on the line, resistance is justified,” and “When human lives are on the line, resistance is justified.” 

While Allen was getting arrested, he continued protesting against AI while being walked to a paddy wagon.

“AI will destroy humanity within a few years,” Allen said. “They said there’s nothing anybody can do. I want everybody to know they can do exactly what I’m doing right now. Just enough people choose to do something, something can happen.”