Rethinking AI Superintelligence Preparedness Through a Justice Lens

Debates on superintelligence preparedness have long been dominated by precautionary logics that emphasize speculative catastrophic risks. While these frameworks often present themselves as universal, they obscure justice-based perspectives and reinforce epistemic asymmetries between the Global North and South. This article interrogates the global discourse of “AI precaution” through a justice lens, drawing on qualitative analysis of policy documents and expert interviews conducted across diverse contexts, including Kenya, Brazil, India, South Africa, and the Philippines. The findings reveal three key dynamics. First, epistemic exclusion, where expertise and lived experience from the Global South are marginalized within precautionary imaginaries. Second, temporal asymmetry, as precautionary frameworks impose linear, universal timelines of risk that neglect locally situated priorities and temporalities. Third, distributive imbalance, whereby the burdens of precaution disproportionately fall on communities least responsible for the development of AI systems. To address these challenges, the paper introduces the concept of situated precaution as a pluralist alternative to dominant precautionary logics. Situated precaution foregrounds epistemic justice and temporal sovereignty, highlighting the importance of recognizing diverse knowledge systems, political contexts, and social vulnerabilities in shaping AI governance. By advancing this reframing, the article bridges critical theory, science and technology studies, and global policy debates, offering a framework for more equitable approaches to superintelligence preparedness. Ultimately, these reframing challenges dominant narratives that universalize risk while erasing alternative perspectives. It contributes to a broader rethinking of what it means to govern AI responsibly in a deeply unequal world, emphasizing the need for governance models that anticipate speculative futures while also addressing present injustices.