AI doesn’t need ‘superintelligence’ or evil intent to start a nuclear war

Composite image credits: Cottonbro Studio via Pexels / “P20260909JB-0629” by The White House via Flickr. United States Government Work. Analysis by Paul Slovic and Herbert Lin. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists – October 2, 2026.

When AI researcher Jacob Coxon announced his resignation from Anthropic this month, he warned that people at companies racing toward self-improving superintelligence “earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” Such warnings raise fears that AI could escape human control and start a nuclear war without human authorization. Although superintelligence is not precisely defined, AI developers agree it is not yet here. But today’s AI systems can cause nuclear war even if people nominally remain in charge. AI need not launch a weapon, recommend a strike, or intend harm. Ordinary human fallibility—amplified by machines—may be enough to lead to catastrophe. […]

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