At a moment when artificial intelligence is reshaping the boundaries of human possibility, OpenAI's Sam Altman has stepped forward with a paradox at its heart: the fears are real, he says, and yet the answer is trust. In Washington, the company is backing legislative proposals on AI safety and biosecurity, positioning itself as a willing partner to oversight rather than a reluctant subject of it. The deeper question this moment poses is one as old as industry itself — whether those who build powerful things can be relied upon to limit themselves, or whether that responsibility must ultimately