Flip Petillion writes essay : Preparedness as an Old Societal Skill

This essay forms part of Flip's ongoing work on AI governance and preparedness. It examines the growing tendency to treat artificial intelligence as an unprecedented moral and institutional rupture, and questions whether such exceptionalism is either analytically justified or practically useful.

Rather than approaching AI through panic-driven narratives or speculative futurism, the paper situates AI within a broader and familiar landscape of societal risk management. Drawing parallels with other high-impact activities — including transport, public health, gambling, substance use and weapons regulation — it argues that societies already have extensive experience in governing technologies that combine significant benefits with foreseeable harm.

The central claim is that AI governance should prioritise preparedness over prediction, institutional responsibility over moral absolutism, and reuse of existing governance frameworks over constant regulatory reinvention. Particular attention is paid to the role of institutional humility, especially within the legal profession, when responding to technological uncertainty.

This paper is intended as a contribution to ongoing discussions on responsible AI deployment, governance design and professional accountability, rather than as a call for exceptional or reflexive regulation.