Dread risk

Biological Parallel

Prey animals exhibit disproportionate fear of ambush predators (cats, snakes) versus pursuit predators (wolves, hawks)—despite similar mortality rates. Ground squirrels spend 3x more time scanning for snakes than for coyotes, even though coyotes kill more squirrels annually. Dread risk: uncontrollable, invisible threats trigger stronger avoidance than visible, manageable ones. The mechanism: ambush predators violate prediction—they appear without warning, creating what psychologists call learned helplessness. Evolution shaped fear responses to threat controllability, not just lethality. Wolves are dangerous but predictable; snakes are equally deadly but invoke dread. This explains why employees fear AI job displacement more than market downturns: algorithms feel like ambush predators—invisible, unpredictable, and immune to negotiation.