Atlas of AI Risk
A field guide to the full risk surface of advanced AI — from misuse to misalignment to slow structural drift.
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Mapping the Surface — The FAIR Labs Atlas of AI Risk
A ~13-minute audio briefing on Atlas of AI Risk with Dr. Krzysztof Pietroszek, President of FAIR Labs. Produced with www.allais.com.
Summary
You cannot govern a fog. So this volume draws a map. Every serious conversation about AI risk currently suffers the same failure: people use one word — "risk" — for a dozen different things, then wonder why they disagree. This atlas maps the full surface as four continents: Misuse, Malfunction, Misalignment, and Structural drift, divided into twelve territories, each scored for severity and tractability. It shows how risks compound across borders, and where to build the watchtowers that would see trouble coming. A shared map does not settle the argument. It makes the argument productive.
Volume 03 is the series' field guide to what can actually go wrong. It maps the full risk surface of advanced AI as four continents — Misuse, Malfunction, Misalignment, and Structural drift — divided into twelve territories, each scored for severity and tractability. It traces the trade winds by which risks compound and convert across continents, and closes with watchtowers: observable early-warning indicators, a recommendations agenda, and a working glossary. The atlas's premise is simple: confusion about the map is itself a risk.
How to cite this report
Atlas of AI Risk: A field guide to the full risk surface of advanced AI — from misuse to misalignment to the slow structural drift. FAIR Labs Frontier Series, Vol. 03. Fair Artificial Intelligence Research Labs, 2026. Available at https://fairlabs.ai/research/frontier-vol03-atlas-of-ai-risk
FAIR Labs (Fair Artificial Intelligence Research Labs) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research institute in Washington, DC. Its reports may be reproduced with attribution for non-commercial purposes. For interviews, briefings or data requests, use the contact form.