OpenAI Fires Contractors Caught Using AI to Grade ChatGPT

OpenAI has fired multiple contractors hired to grade ChatGPT's answers after catching them using AI to do the work, 404 Media reported. Internal documents reviewed by the outlet reference "more than ten thousand contractors" across the company's rating pipelines and bar them from touching AI-detection tools, GPTZero, Grammarly, or a chatbot itself while working.

The instruction to reviewers is blunt: "Do not use AI detection tools, or AI yourself." A second line tells supervisors not to reveal how they spot cheats, since "it is easier for them to hide if they know what you look for." The tells are repetitive word patterns, excessive em dashes, and unusually fast completion times.

One fired worker's termination letter flagged issues with the "authenticity" of their submissions. The contractor's own account was direct: "I just needed a little boost and turned to AI to help me." Mercor, the staffing firm subcontracting many of these raters, told 404 Media, "When we confirm an expert has used AI to complete a task, we immediately remove them," while defending its bench: "Our experts are hired for their expertise and judgement, which is essential to the ongoing advancement of AI."

Cheating is not the only problem. One contractor described a job stripped of meaning: "I felt no joy in the work or that I was contributing to society in any way." Another described active sabotage, saying they "either pay zero attention to the results and choose randomly or purposely choose the worst output." OpenAI declined to comment.