Vulnerability Analysis for AI Crisis Preparedness

AI safety efforts are heavily focused on prevention, yet complex failures will still occur in real-world conditions. This paper analyzes a set of AI-induced crisis scenarios to identify the institutional and coordination capacities required once harm begins to unfold. Using structured failure-mode decomposition across six crisis response mission areas, we map stressors, failure points, and re- sponse needs across scenarios. We find that recurring gaps, particularly in detection, cross-actor coordination, and containment, systematically limit the ability to contain high-impact failures.