Sit Tight and Assess

After hearing that Comet Dibiasky has a 99.78% chance of destroying Earth, President Orlean delays action until after the midterms and calls the decision “sit tight and assess.”

Short-term political incentives consume a shrinking prevention window. For existential AI risks, waiting for certainty or a more convenient moment can make later safeguards far more costly—or impossible.

The threat is already well characterized and the obstruction is human political calculation, not uncertainty generated by an AI system.