On October 9, Business Insider reported that three former OpenAI safety researchers were unexpectedly terminated from their positions last Thursday, sparking concerns over a potential 'chilling effect' within the company's organizational culture. Among the dismissed employees, Mikita Balesni published an open letter addressed to OpenAI's Safety Committee on a social media platform. He, along with two other signatories of the open letter, had been actively involved in research related to AI safety. An OpenAI spokesperson clarified that an internal investigation revealed that the three employees had breached the company's policies concerning the access and management of sensitive information. Nevertheless, the three employees contended that the company merely offered verbal justifications for their dismissal and insisted that their actions remained within the scope of their job responsibilities. In their open letter, they also voiced apprehensions that their former colleagues might now 'hesitate to voice their opinions and dare not proceed with certain tasks in the same manner again'.