“We should prepare a playbook for the day after a warning shot” by Yair Halberstadt
Podcast: LessWrong (30+ Karma)Published On: Tue Sep 01 2026
Description: Imagine in 6 months or 6 years, a frontier AI model goes horribly wrong. Perhaps it releases a synthetic virus which kills hundreds. Perhaps it shuts down the internet. Perhaps it gains control over the China's nuclear armament. Fortunately humanity survives without too much lasting damage. But in the immediate aftermath there's a clear call from the people. Something must be done. The question is, what? Without a good answer there is a strong risk that the opportunity is squandered, or worse, that policies which sound good but are actively harmful are chosen - for example strongly limiting deployment while allowing training to continue full speed ahead. If this scenario does occur we should be ready to answer the call. This involves: considering how the overton window is likely to change post-disaster, and what are the most effective policies that could be easily and quickly pushed through as a result. considering what can be done at all levels of government, both state and federal, legislative and executive. creating concrete draft legislation and executive orders. preparing websites explaining clearly both to the public and relevant experts our policy ideas. keeping a [...] --- First published: September 1st, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/P6fjDnyk9ZLQCeFRF/we-should-prepare-a-playbook-for-the-day-after-a-warning --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
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