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AI Arms and Influence: Frontier Models Exhibit Sophisticated Reasoning in Simulated Nuclear Crises

Kenneth Payne · arXiv · 2026

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Plain-English Summary

Tests frontier AI models in simulated nuclear crisis scenarios, finding they exhibit sophisticated strategic reasoning, raising urgent questions about AI autonomy in high-stakes military and nuclear decision-making.

AI safetynuclearmilitaryautonomygovernance

This paper explores how AI is being considered for integration into nuclear command-and-control and broader military decision systems, and why that raises serious safety concerns.