“In the midst of a worsening nuclear arms race, we are embarking on an equally dangerous AI race.” In mid-July 2026, a group of Nobel Laureates came together at the Papal Villas just outside Rome to explore the implications of and consider action on the combined threats of artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons.
Deeply alarmed, they issued the Rome Declaration that described this existential problem: “AI built into nuclear systems leaves little time for, or even replaces, human judgement in a crisis. This technology changes the context in which nuclear-armed states compete with each other. … AI uplifts cyber attacks that can fracture critical civilian and strategic infrastructure. AI enables information warfare: Peace depends on a shared reality. Without facts there can be no truth; without truth there can be no trust; and without trust, no dialogue, no verification, and no restraint among nations.”
“The most advanced AI capabilities, computing resources, and data infrastructures are becoming increasingly concentrated in a small number of countries and corporations, creating significant asymmetries of power and limited incentives for cooperation. AI is a technology that causes economic, military, and social disruption, and is developing at a pace unprecedented in human history.”
For more on this important meeting and the Declaration, read this story in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.