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What should a world with artificial intelligence that surpasses human cognitive abilities look like — and how should the government respond? OpenAI has some ideas, starting with higher taxes on corporate profits and capital gains. In a policy paper released this week, the company proposed that this could help offset the impact of businesses replacing people with AI tools, as payroll-based tax income would shrink if people lose their jobs. The ChatGPT maker also suggested creating a public wealth fund that would allow every citizen to benefit from AI-driven growth, and experimenting with four-day work weeks.

The policy proposals come as questions surface about whether OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman is even the right person for the job. There’s no doubt that he’s one of the most powerful leaders of our time, shepherding one of the most consequential technologies ever built. But the 40-year-old billionaire has a reputation for being untrustworthy and deceitful, according to a lengthy New Yorker deep dive story sourced from interviews with 100 former and current OpenAI employees and people in his circle as well as documents and memos. One example that stuck out: tapping wealthy Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for billions of dollars to construct huge data centers— a plan that board members reportedly knew nothing about. While the story contained some new details, it largely rehashed what others have reported since Altman’s 2023 ouster and reinstatement.

But Altman is continuing to clash with OpenAI insiders, according to The Information. He has privately said that he wants OpenAI to go public as soon as the fourth quarter of the year, even though the company expects to burn $200 billion before generating........

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