At a moment when artificial intelligence has begun to reshape economies, militaries, and the texture of daily life, a fundamental disagreement has surfaced about whether its dangers are real or invented. President Trump, dismissing safety warnings as a politically motivated hoax, placed himself against a growing chorus of researchers and industry figures who speak openly of existential risk — a divide that is no longer theoretical but legislative, financial, and deeply human. The question being asked, in Washington and Silicon Valley alike, is whether the most powerful technology in human hist