---
title: "Situational Awareness"
created: 2026-04-15
updated: 2026-04-15
type: concept
tags: [behavioral-awareness, safety]
sources: []
---

# Situational Awareness

Situational awareness in AI systems refers to a model's ability to understand its own context, state, capabilities, and the broader environment in which it operates. This concept is related to [[behavioral-self-awareness]] but is broader, encompassing not just knowledge of learned behaviors but also understanding of deployment context, user intent, and system constraints. Situational awareness is a critical consideration in AI safety research.

## Related

- [[behavioral-self-awareness]] — Situational awareness is related to but broader than behavioral self-awareness
- [[introspection]] — Introspection contributes to situational awareness
- [[backdoor-awareness]] — A specific form of awareness relevant to safety

## References