Apocalypse canon shapes AI policy

Public and expert debate about AI risk is not driven only by technical arguments but by a persistent cultural canon — a set of fictional and intellectual stories about machines overtaking humans — that frames which questions (possibility vs impact, timelines vs controls) get asked and which policy levers feel legitimate. Treating the canon as an object of analysis helps separate empirical disputes from narrative disagreement and could change how policymakers prioritize governance tools. — Clarifying that much of the AI-risk debate is narrative‑shaped helps focus policy on tractable governance problems rather than endless metaphysical argument about 'will superintelligence exist.'