NTI Advances Agenda to Tackle Future Challenges

As artificial intelligence and emerging technologies continue to disrupt global security, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) convened its Science and Technology Advisory Group to identify and discuss opportunities for NTI to anticipate and proactively direct its efforts to tackle future challenges.

Meeting in Washington, DC, on January 30th, the diverse group of experts from academia and the public and private sectors discussed five major themes:

• Biosecurity and emerging technology
• Intersection of AI and nuclear policy
• Uncertainty of AI in nuclear decision making
• Impact of space technologies on nuclear security
• Global effects of nuclear weapons use

On biosecurity, participants expressed the importance of continuing to help create guardrails and norms for responsible behavior to mitigate the risks posed by the misuse of AI enabled bio design tools. Participants also recognized the impacts of AI and emergent technologies on nuclear security, as the technological foundations behind deterrence and decision-making processes are being transformed by private sector innovation. The space domain was also seen as a frontier of change, which will require proactive, diplomatic engagement to ensure outer space remains free from nuclear weapons.

Participants also discussed the destructive and disruptive impact of any nuclear weapons use far beyond the primary blast, heat, and radiological effects. Global supply chains would be disrupted, alongside financial institutions, and international trade. “We saw with COVID and one ship stuck in the Suez Canal how we lack resilience in this,” noted Ernest J. Moniz, co-chair and chief executive officer of NTI. Achieving a deeper understanding of nuclear weapons effects was seen as crucial for informing future policy decisions.

To help address these challenges, NTI has launched its new FutureSafe program focused on the risks and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, led by Dimitri Kusnezov, vice president, science and technology at NTI.

“There are forces driving the democratization of tech broadly,” said Kusnezov in his closing remarks. “Among a range of disruptive technologies, the surprises may come from the blending of different technologies—we’re working to understand the potential impacts on nuclear and biological security.”

NTI will continue to convene the Science and Technology Advisory Group and work to advance pilot projects to reduce nuclear, biological, and emerging technology threats imperiling humanity.