Since 1966 – International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts – Italian Pugwash Group

31st ISODARCO Winter Course

Andalo (Trento) 7 – 14 January 2018

The Evolving Nuclear Order: New Technology and Nuclear Risk

Director of the School: Carlo Schaerf (Isodarco, Rome, Italy)
Directors of the Course: Francesca Giovannini (Committee on International Security Studies, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, MA, USA), Steven Miller (Belfer Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA)

With support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York



Description

Advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, data processing, geospatial analysis, and other technologies are primed to transform every aspect of human life including nuclear deterrence. With every nuclear-armed state investing in nuclear and conventional modernization we are at the cusp of a new arms race. How do we manage nuclear risk in a world where the drivers of military advantage, from cyber to automation, are dual use and only partially controlled by governments? What effects will technological change have on the existing nuclear order? How can we assess the impact, whether positive or negative, of new technological developments and how do we discriminate between serious challenges and minor problems? What happens when technological uncertainty intersects with political crises in Eastern Europe, the Korean peninsula, the Taiwan straits, the Middle East or South Asia? What can we do to mitigate risks in a new nuclear era where old rules may not apply?