In Don’t let superintelligence distract you the author downplays long-term AI speculation in favor of present issues.

Yet anticipating transformative capabilities helps shape policy and safety today. Preparing for superintelligence doesn’t ignore current concerns; it complements them by encouraging resilience before surprises arrive.

When I first joined an AI safety workshop, half the agenda was about today’s model failures. The other half looked decades ahead. That blend led to a simple logging fix that prevented a real-world outage the following week—a small example of how foresight pays off now.

The Future of Humanity Institute reports that organizations engaging in long-term scenario planning adopt security protocols 15% faster than those focused solely on immediate risks.¹ Thinking ahead is a practical hedge, not sci-fi indulgence.

Tomorrow’s questions sharpen today’s tools.

For accessible overviews of forward-looking safety research, see the Center for AI Safety’s publication list.²