624 views Feb 20, 2026

Command and control of nuclear weapons is a delicate and complicated system, designed to prevent error while ensuring reliability under high-pressure conditions. In environments where vast amounts of data shape high-stakes outcomes, artificial intelligence has become a natural consideration. The integration of a rapidly evolving technology raises fundamental questions about responsibility, data quality, and system reliability. When a single error could have irreversible consequences, how can confidence be built around the integration of machine learning into systems that have long relied on human judgment and oversight? What guardrails should be maintained? Where are there opportunities for international collaboration and consensus?

On February 19, 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Outrider Foundation hosted a group of experts to examine the current state of AI in nuclear command and control, identify where the greatest risks reside, and explore the policies that must be considered now to govern this technology in the years ahead.

Speakers: Alexandra Bell, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Prior to this, Bell served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Affairs in the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability (ADS) at the U.S. Department of State. From 2017 to 2021, she was the Senior Policy Director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and the Council for a Livable World. Paul Lushenko, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel. He serves as an Assistant Professor at the U.S. Army War College, Professorial Lecturer at The George Washington University, Senior Fellow at Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute and Institute of Politics and Global Affairs, and Non-Resident Expert at RegulatingAI. Eduardo Alcibiades Sánchez Kiesslich, Director-General for the United Nations in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Recently he was involved in authoring and presenting “Possible Risks of Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Command, Control and Communication Systems of Nuclear Weapons,” the Mexico-led resolution which was adopted at the UN General Assembly in 2025. Leah Walker, Executive Director for the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab. She oversees the Lab’s interdisciplinary research portfolio which includes nuclear arms control, nuclear weapons policy, defense analyses, emerging defense technologies, the governance of emerging technologies, industrial policy, and strategic competition. Leah also conducts research on the governance of military and commercial artificial intelligence and Russian and Chinese nuclear posture and modernization among other issues. Special Remarks: Robert K. Elder, President & CEO of Outrider Foundation. He also serves as a voting member of Outrider’s Board of Directors. Elder is the author or editor of 20+ books, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Paris Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Salon.com, and many other publications. He previously served as the Chief Digital Officer at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Executive Director of Digital Product Development & Innovation at Crain Communications.

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript.

Show transcriptBulletin of the Atomic Scientists