Fired OpenAI researchers say independent safety audits aren't going well

NPR | By Kevin Roose,

Casey Newton

Published October 23, 2026 at 5:33 PM EDT

In their first interview since being fired, OpenAI safety researchers Mikita Balesni and Tomek Korbak say they were terminated for prioritizing safety over the short-term interests of the company.

Kevin Roose

Kevin Roose is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and one of the most widely read chroniclers of the AI era. He is the co-host of Machine Gods, a podcast about AI made in partnership with NPR, and a contributing writer at The Atlantic.

Casey Newton

Casey Newton is the co-host of Machine Gods, a video-first show about AI from NPR, which he hosts with Kevin Roose. Prior, Newton and Roose created and hosted Hard Fork at The New York Times, which Time named one of the 100 best podcasts of all time.

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