Mark Whittington asked in these pages whether artificial intelligence might become the only way humanity can survive. It is a question worth taking seriously. If AI can help us detect pandemics earlier, discover medicines faster, manage complex energy systems, identify approaching hazards, or solve problems too large for human teams to process in time, refusing to develop it could carry risks of its own.

If AI becomes humanity’s lifeboat, we should build the lifeboat. We should also keep the oars.