“And why should you decide the cause of my son’s death? We are strong parents. We know our child” said Poornima Rao, the agonised mother of Suchir Balaji, when she was encouraged to process her grief in a bereavement support group for the loss of a loved one reportedly due to suicide. “Suchir Balaji was only 26 years old at the time of his death under suspicious circumstances, just six weeks ago,” said Poornima. “How long should we suffer? How long should we Sanatanis in the world pay the price of being brilliant? We will not give up,” said Poornima.
Did you just hear a tormented mother’s cry of pain for the loss of her only child! Tears rolled down my cheeks as I listened to Suchir’s mom. Her anguish was so deep down to her soul. Poornima’s plea for help at “Hello, my name is Poornima Rao, mother of Suchir Balaji. I am in deep grief for the loss of my son Suchir Balaji, only 26 years old. He was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his apartment in San Francisco, on November 26th, 2024. On the day of his death, he had returned happily from a backpacking vacation in Catalina Island with his friends to celebrate his 26th birthday. We both had a very pleasant phone-chat about his trip. Suchir was brave enough to be a whistleblower! He openly exposed OpenAi in X, New York Times and on his website. A week after he was named as a witness for the New York Times, he was found dead! While he was so courageous to expose them publicly, that makes his death appear to be ‘under suspicious circumstances.’ This was not stated as the reported cause of his death by the police.”
Suchir Balaji’s death under suspicious circumstances comes a couple of months after his allegation on OpenAI that the corporation was violating copyright laws. In a statement on ‘X’, Suchir had said, “I initially didn’t know much about copyright, fair use, etc. but became curious after seeing all the lawsuits filed against GenAI companies. When I tried to understand the issue better, I eventually came to the conclusion that fair use seems like a pretty implausible defense for a lot of generative AI products, for the basic reason that they can create substitutes that compete with the data they’re trained on (sic).”
“His tragic death has sparked a storm of conspiracy theories, with some alleging a suspicious connection between his untimely death and his outspoken criticisms of the corporation where he was employed. According to the cops, there is no evidence of foul play and it is a case of suicide. However, there seems to be more than what meets the eye. A public petition on change.org has been filed demanding a thorough and fair investigation in Suchir’s death.”
“Suchir deserves justice and us parents need to know the truth if there is foul play. We want to start our own private investigation that requires substantial funds for legal fees and investigative resources. We have already spent 50 thousand dollars of our own money and we will use Suchir’s assets to supplement them when court allows. I am here to ask the community for support and to stand beside us in our fight for justice for Suchir. Every dollar we can raise will go towards legal fees/lawyer and finding someone who isn’t scared to dig for the truth.”
In summary, Suchir Balaji deserves justice and the parents deserve to know the truth about the true cause of his death. They believe their son’s death should be investigated because it was under suspicious circumstances.
● August 2024: Suchir Balaji left Open AI, the Artificial Intelligence corporation.
● Late October 2024: Suchir Balaji, a 25-year-old AI techie, accused his former employer, OpenAI, of breaking federal copyright law in an interview with @NYTimes.
● November 22nd, 2024: Suchir Balaji last spoke to his mother for ten minutes. “He was happy as a lark as he had returned from a backpacking trip from Catalina Island after celebrating his 26th birthday with his friends,” said Pornima. “And he kept reassuring me … Mom, I’m not doing anything wrong – go see the article. I’m just saying my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with it,” Poornima shared with me today (January 1st 2025) on the phone that Suchir told her he had read the Bhagavad Gita (a Hindu scripture) on the day of his death. He was very spiritual and philosophical, said Poornima.
● November 26th, 2024: Four days later, the San Francisco police found Suchir Balaji dead in his apartment. The San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Suchir’s death a suicide, though a final autopsy report was yet to be released.
● Early December 2024: The San Francisco police department said there is “currently, no evidence of foul play.”
● Poornima said she wasn’t told of her son’s death until a stretcher appeared in front of Balaji’s apartment. She was not allowed inside her son’s apartment until the following day. “I can never forget that day,” Poorniam ji said. “My heart was grief stricken and shattered!”
● Poornima questioned the authorities’ investigation of her son’s death, stating, “The San Francisco police closed the case within an hour of discovering Suchir’s body and turned it over to the county medical examiner’s office. But later when we inspected the apartment, we found signs of violence, thereby making the circumstances of his death suspicious. Suchir Balaji’s Mom Talks About His Life, Death, and Views on OpenAI” – Business Insider
Contrary to the police’s narrative, Suchir’s death was under suspicious circumstances. I urge the legacy media to cover Suchir Balaji’s death.
