Mikita Balesni
Alignment researcher · OpenAI · 2026
Evidence reviewed
What happened
Balesni was fired from OpenAI. He says he and two safety colleagues were dismissed for putting AI safety ahead of the company’s short-term interests.
The dismissals were publicly reported on October 1, 2026. The exact departure dates are not confirmed.
Balesni worked on alignment evaluations and monitoring AI reasoning. The joint letter says he coordinated external safety work with senior leadership, checked with his managers, and removed sensitive details before sharing materials. OpenAI says the three mishandled sensitive information in breach of company procedures. OpenAI denies retaliation.
Sources
- OpenAI cannot make AI safe on its ownJoint letter — Korbak, Wang, and Balesni
- Mikita Balesni — account of dismissalX
- OpenAI’s explanation for the dismissalsAFP / The Economic Times
- OpenAI’s response to the letterTechCrunch
Key Publications
- OpenAI cannot make AI safe on its ownTomek Korbak, Jasmine Wang, and Mikita Balesniessay
A joint open letter disputing the authors’ dismissals and calling for independent oversight, open safety discussion, and continued access to AI reasoning for monitoring.
- Chain of Thought Monitorability: A New and Fragile Opportunity for AI SafetyarXivpaper
A cross-industry paper co-authored by Korbak, Wang, and Balesni on monitoring AI reasoning for signs of harmful behavior. It argues that this imperfect safety tool warrants further research and could be weakened by changes in how models are developed.
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