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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 14h

This interview by @mattyfield.bsky.social, part of the Bulletin's September magazine, is available to all readers for a limited time.

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 14h

Former presidential science adviser John Holdren on Trump's dramatic break from a longstanding system of government science investment, and the risks that break entails. ⬇️

Obama’s science adviser on Trump’s science cuts: "The system will starve"

Since 1945, there has been a system in place in the US of government research investment in the sciences—particularly at universities. The idea was that the new knowledge created by scientists would…

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 19h

"Economic isolation creates conditions that are conducive to nuclear weapons development," writes Sergey Shkolnikov.

So how can nations design nuclear sanctions that don't backfire?

How to design nuclear sanctions that don’t backfire

International sanctions can have a paradoxical effect, spurring some nations to push harder to obtain nuclear weapons. Here’s how sanctions can be more effective.

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 21h

"Technology alone will not provide a silver bullet solution to the Biological Weapons Convention's verification gap, but AI could play a supporting role," writes James Revill, Head of the WMD and Space Security Programmes at UNIDIR.

How AI can—and cannot—improve verification of the Biological Weapons Convention

If President Donald Trump moves forward with his plan to use AI to verify compliance with the international bioweapons treaty, he'll face several technical and political challenges.

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 1d

The Trump administration's $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications is threatening Silicon Valley's ability to attract the world's top talent, writes @jeremyhsu.bsky.social.

How Trump’s new H-1B fee will hurt Silicon Valley and AI startups

"It is nearly impossible to overstate how much the US AI research community owes to the continuous infusion of foreign talent."

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 1d

You can read Venkatasubramanian's article for the Bulletin, "How AI and surveillance capitalism are undermining democracy," below.

How AI and surveillance capitalism are undermining democracy

The only way data and AI can be used for good is with restrictive controls to prevent damage to democracy.

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 1d

"AI systems are used to make invisible, inscrutable judgements that will affect our lives in ways we may not even begin to see," says Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social.

"It sounds Kafkaesque because it is Kafkaesque."

How AI is fueling surveillance capitalism and undermining democracy

While some believe AI can be used to improve lives, others may exploit this knowledge for financial gain.

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 1d

This series is generously supported by the Future of Life Institute @futureoflife.org.

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 1d

The Bulletin is excited to announce The AI Power Trip, a year-long project examining how the people and organizations developing AI applications are gaining control of the world's governance, information ecosystems, energy resources, military-industrial complex, and more. #AIPowerTrip

The AI Power Trip

Almost three years after its launch into the public sphere, generative artificial intelligence has permeated nearly every crevice of human life.

thebulletin.org

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Reposted by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Jeremy Hsu @jeremyhsu.bsky.social · 4d

I really appreciated getting a chance to talk with economists and immigration law experts about how the Trump administration's overhaul of the H-1B visa program could impact AI startups and the broader US tech industry. My first piece for @thebulletin.org

Sara Goudarzi @saragoud.bsky.social · 4d

The Trump admin’s $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications and attempt to change the visa program is threatening Silicon Valley’s ability to attract the world’s top talent and may scuttle US AI ambitions touted by the president himself, @jeremyhsu.bsky.social explains in a @thebulletin.org piece.

How Trump’s new H-1B fee will hurt Silicon Valley and AI startups

The Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications is threatening Silicon Valley’s ability to attract the world’s top talent.

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 4d

Economists and immigration experts are warning about severe consequences the new United States H-1B visa fee will have for AI innovation, writes @jeremyhsu.bsky.social.

"It is nearly impossible to overstate how much the US AI research community owes to the continuous infusion of foreign talent."

How Trump’s new H-1B fee will hurt Silicon Valley and AI startups

The Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications is threatening Silicon Valley’s ability to attract the world’s top talent.

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 4d

"The Pakistan-Saudi Arabia pact signals to Washington the kingdom's discontent over flailing US security guarantees, and its willingness to use strategic ambiguity, as the need to counterbalance Israel and Iran heightens," writes Nour Eid.

The Saudi-Pakistani 'strategic mutual defense' pact that no one saw coming

The Pakistan-Saudi Arabia pact is a wake-up call to Washington—and a warning to Iran and Israel.

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 5d

This interview by @mattyfield.bsky.social, part of the Bulletin's September magazine, is available to all readers for a limited time.

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 5d

Since 1945, there has been a system in place in the United States of government investment in science research—particularly at universities.

Former presidential science adviser John Holdren delves into what it means when that system is broken.

Obama’s science adviser on Trump’s science cuts: "The system will starve"

Since 1945, there has been a system in place in the US of government research investment in the sciences—particularly at universities. The idea was that the new knowledge created by scientists would…

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 6d

"Over time, the dangerous situation at Zaporizhzhia has become the new normal," writes Ali Alkis.

"[...] The international community has become accustomed to nuclear piracy: the seizure or exploitation—or both—of a civilian nuclear facility by a state for strategic and military advantage."

From Zaporizhzhia to Natanz, nuclear piracy is equally dangerous—and illegal

On Wednesday, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was still supplied with electricity by diesel generators, a week after being cut off from power reportedly because of Russian shelling. Ukrainian…

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 6d

Over the weekend, Britain, France, and Germany—a group known as the E3—triggered the "snapback" of United Nations sanctions on Iran.

This shrinks the possibility of successful diplomacy and fuels escalation, writes @sinatoossi.bsky.social.

Why Europe's snapback gamble against Iran will backfire

European and US officials have said that diplomacy remains an option. But Europe's "snapback" of UN sanctions on Iran shrinks the possibility of successful diplomacy and fuels escalation.

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 7d

This Bulletin magazine article is available to all readers for a limited time.

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 7d

"There's just a handful of bad actors right now that are trying to prevent meaningful progress on climate, and unfortunately the United States now happens to be one of them." — @michaelemann.bsky.social.

Michael Mann, on how the second US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement may alter the world’s climate change landscape

The green energy transition will continue despite United States roadblocks, because "what's going to determine the trajectory of clean energy is not about the US in isolation. It's also about what’s happening in other countries [...]"

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 7d

As part of the budget proposal for NASA submitted earlier this year, the Trump admin proposed cancelling over 40 missions.

Agency employees have already been instructed to do the prep work for ending these programs, according to a NASA scientist.

More from @jessimckenzi.bsky.social. ⬇️

NASA missions at risk under the Trump administration

Some satellites slated for decommissioning are in the prime of life, and turning them off would be enormously wasteful, in addition to severely limiting scientists' ability to understand the planet.

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 7d

Written by Bulletin climate editor @jessimckenzi.bsky.social and shared via our collaboration with @climatedesk.org. ⬇️

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 7d

The US is hurtling towards a potential government shutdown if Congress does not pass a budget or short-term funding bill by the end of the month.

The fate of the federal government’s Earth and climate science programs may hang in the balance.

Trump and his minions are eyeing “wholesale destruction” of environmental science

And they may seek to use a government shutdown as the pretext.

www.motherjones.com

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 7d

In late July 1984, as the world's nuclear superpowers stared each other down, some of the United States' sharpest minds landed in Montana's "Big Sky" country with a single goal: To figure out how civilization might avoid extinguishing itself in a nuclear war.

Read more from Fen Hampson. ⬇️

The untold story of a 1984 Montana retreat that shaped US nuclear policy for decades

The intellectual debates and personal dynamics that unfolded in Big Sky, Montana defined the nuclear policy discussions of the 1980s and shaped the agreements that would help end the Cold War.

thebulletin.org

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 7d

"The United States is hurtling towards a potential government shutdown if Congress does not pass a budget or short-term funding bill by the end of the month, and the fate of the federal government's Earth and climate science programs may hang in the balance." — @jessimckenzi.bsky.social.

‘Wholesale destruction’: Government shutdown or not, critical science programs are at risk

The Trump administration has proposed devastating cuts to federal Earth and climate science programs, and a government shutdown could give them an opportunity to begin implementing those cuts.

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 8d

Washington's unabashed protection of Israel's nuclear goals is unqualified—and goes against United States security interests, writes Victor Gilinsky.

Why the US should stop protecting Israel's nuclear weapons

A former commissioner of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission writes that it's time to end US support of Israel's monopoly on nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 8d

The water supply for nearly 12 million people in central Chile depends on the annual melting of glaciers, now in decline.

A group of engineers is testing an unlikely idea: building the first "artificial glaciers" in the Americas to capture as much water as possible before it disappears.

Goodbye, glaciers. Hello, engineered ice cones?

Inspired by the “ice stupas” of the Indian Himalayas, these manmade structures retain meltwater in winter and slowly release it during the scorching summer months.

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 9d

Getting into a nuclear arms competition with Russia or China is a losing proposition for the United States, writes @matthew-bunn.bsky.social.

"My advice: Never get into an arms race with a country that can build a functioning hospital in two weeks—as China did during the pandemic."

Putin just gave Trump the opportunity to maintain nuclear restraint. Will he seize it?

Extending New START will also give time for Trump to work with Russia and China on future arms control accords.

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