Nuclear weapons have unique catastrophic effects. Reducing risks of their use is a key element of reducing existential risks. Our researchers and members study the intersections between nuclear weapons and emerging and disruptive technologies, as a contribution to nuclear risk reduction. Our research looks in particular at the growing complexity that the simultaneous emergence of multiple disruptive technologies introduces. We aim to provide guidance for decision makers on how they can maintain strategic stability and make progress towards arms control and disarmament under such circumstances. ELN experts also examine the question of whether other technologies could eventually present similarly catastrophic risks as nuclear weapons.
AI is transforming the nuclear risk landscape faster than governance can adapt. ELN Policy Fellow Nikita Gryazin argues that the recently signed Rome Declaration should mark the beginning, not the end, of efforts to strengthen nuclear risk reduction. Doing so would help preserve meaningful human control, extend decision time, and update crisis management for the AI era.
Drawing on parallels with the Manhattan Project, the ELN’s Oliver Meier argues that AI companies cannot be relied upon to govern the risks their technology creates. Examining Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah’s response to Pope Leo’s encyclical, he contends that meaningful safeguards will require governments and international institutions to impose robust regulation.
Building on our work throughout the review cycle, join the ELN for two state-sponsored side events at the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, United Nations, New York.