Global Risk

From Counterforce to Minimal Deterrence: A New Nuclear Policy on the Path Toward Eliminating Nuclear Weapons

04.04.09 | 1 min read | Text by FAS

Though the nuclear arsenal of the United States is smaller than it was during the Cold War, the day-to-day deployment of forces has changed very little. The United States still has weapons ready to launch at a moment’s notice at all times.

The reason is simple: the mission for nuclear weapons has not changed from the time of the Cold War.

Most Americans would be surprised to discover that the instructions to our nuclear targeteers still include a requirement for a surprise first strike against Russian nuclear forces to destroy them on the ground. It is time to shift the focus from reducing numbers of nuclear weapons to reducing the missions of nuclear weapons.

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Blog
Google Introduces Deepfake Satellite Imagery: “It’s Fun!”

[Update: On July 31st, following significant backlash, Google announced that it was temporarily “rolling back” this feature “while we work on implementing stronger guardrails.”]  Google’s motto famously used to be “don’t be evil.” However, its latest feature has just made being evil a whole lot easier.  On July 30th, without much fanfare, Google Earth unveiled […]

07.31.26 | 5 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
Reflections from the 2026 FAS Nuclear Analysis Bootcamp

The bootcamp brought together more than two dozen next-generation open-source practitioners from across the world.

07.29.26 | 4 min read
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Global Risk
Issue Brief
Transforming American Biosecurity

The United States’ biosecurity governance system is structurally incapable of detecting and responding to certain classes of threats. U.S. biosecurity tools have not kept pace with technological advancements or a changing threat landscape.

06.29.26 | 8 min read
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Global Risk
Press release
Federation of American Scientists, Future of Life Institute Present Converging Risks Report, AI Impact Awards at Gala

FAS and FLI partnered to build a series of convenings and reports across the intersections of artificial intelligence (AI) with biosecurity, cybersecurity, nuclear command and control, military integration, and frontier AI governance. This project brought together leaders across these areas and created a space that was rigorous, transpartisan, and solutions-oriented to approach how we should think about how AI is rapidly changing global risks.

05.20.26 | 9 min read
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