There are parts that are different, but it seems worth mentioning that this is quite similar to certain forms of Bostrom's second-guessing arguments, as discussed in Chapter 14 of Superintelligence and in Technological Revolutions: Ethics and Policy in the Dark:

A related type of argument is that we ought—rather callously—to welcome small and medium-scale catastrophes on grounds that they make us aware of our vulnerabilities and spur us into taking precautions that reduce the probability of an existential catastrophe. The idea is that a small or medium-scale catastrophe acts like an inoculation, challenging civilization with a relatively survivable form of a threat and stimulating an immune response that readies the world to deal with the existential variety of the threat.

I should mention that he does seem to be generally against attempting to manipulate people into doing the best thing.