In this July 28, 2016 file photo, author Margaret Atwood sits for a portrait while promoting her new books "Angel Catbird" and "Hag-Seed" in Toronto. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press via AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Margaret Atwood is receiving a lifetime achievement award from one of the world's oldest literary organizations.
PEN Center USA announced Wednesday that Atwood will accept the honor at the group's annual Literary Awards Festival in October.
Atwood has written more than 40 books of fiction, poetry and essays. The television adaptation of her novel "The Handmaid's Tale" premiered on Hulu earlier this year and has been renewed for a second season that will be released in 2018.
PEN Center USA says the 77-year-old author will be recognized at an Oct. 27 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Actor and writer Nick Offerman is scheduled to host the evening.
Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)
Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.
Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.
"We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.
Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.
His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.
Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.
"Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More
