Disaster losses are rising, and the stakes are high for reducing risk. Artificial intelligence (AI) promises new ways to spot danger sooner, coordinate relief more quickly, and save lives and property. But AI doesn't just drop neatly into a command center. To matter in practice, it must be shaped to the messy realities of emergency management—and wrestle with the thorny questions that haunt every new technology: Who gets to use it? When should it replace traditional methods? And who makes sure it doesn't go off the rails?