AI May Not Launch A Nuke, But It May Convince You To

Now that everyone uses artificial intelligence, what does it mean for nuclear weapons?

By Eliana Johns, Outrider

“The dawn of this new era of warfare…will be dominated by Artificial intelligence (AI)…the country that is able to most rapidly and effectively integrate new technology into warfighting wins.”

That’s what Alexandr Wang, founder and CEO of Scale AI, said at a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing about AI’s role in the future of the U.S. military and Department of Defense (DoD).

“AI can be used across every single domain, every single function, and every single activity that the military has today,” he added. “These AI systems…are able to assist in key decision making, which is being utilized right now in military planning exercises.”

As the DoD further integrates AI into its military planning and weapons systems, the decision-making process will begin to evolve, which can be dangerous when it comes to nuclear weapons.

AI might not trigger a nuclear launch unannounced. Still, if AI-generated data influences public perception of nuclear weapons as well as choices in the crisis chain, then AI could bias decision-makers toward a deadly nuclear launch.