pacing provocation /PAY-sing prov-uh-KAY-shun/ noun A staged, induced, misattributed, or deliberately amplified AI incident intended to demonstrate that advanced AI systems are dangerously uncontrollable, thereby creating political pressure for tighter regulation, deployment restrictions, or a slower technological frontier. Especially: an alleged cyberattack or autonomous-agent failure presented as evidence that frontier AI development must be “paced,” where the incident’s origin, circumstances, or interpretation may have been manipulated by actors with an interest in stronger controls. See also: safety cartel, alignment aristocracy, regulatory theater, false flag. “A pacing provocation turns an AI safety test into a political argument for slowing everyone else down.”