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Engineers Meeting in Robotic Research Laboratory. By Gorodenkoff. Standard license. stock.adobe.com

Do scientists need an AI Hippocratic oath? Maybe. Maybe not.

Artificial intelligence has benefited humanity, but scientists also recognize the possibility for a dystopic outcome in which AI-powered computers one day overtake humans. Would an ethical oath for AI scientists avert this outcome? Or is such an oath too simplistic to be useful?
A forest test plot, where snow was removed to see the effects of the lack of this insulating blanket. (Image courtesy of Pamela Templer.)

Shorter, warmer winters, less snow. What next? Q&A with biologist Pamela Templer

Decades of data collected at the nation’s experimental forests show that the winters are getting shorter and warmer, meaning that there will be less snow to protect the microfauna and microflora below. To find out what this could mean for New England’s forests, biologist Pamela Templer of Boston University and her team have been conducting experiments to see what climate change has in store for the future of the forest floor.

Follow the Bulletin on your news app

Find us in your news app!  Want to easily read, like, and share Bulletin content via email or social media? You can follow us on Apple News, Google News, and now on the popular Flipboard app to stay in the know. ​In 2009, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists became one of the first major print publications to go all-digital; in 2018, we … Continued
3D rendering of a quantum processor. Credit: Shutterstock

Approaching Y2Q and barely a peep (or tweet) from the government

Every time you exchange data online, whether you are purchasing an item with a credit card or providing personal information for an application, you enter a tacit agreement with the service provider about the protection of your information. However, you probably don’t think about what specific measures the provider will take to secure your data … Continued

Technology helped fake news. Now technology needs to stop it

Technology needs to partner with psychology to effectively counter the spread of misinformation.

Who’ll want artificially intelligent weapons? ISIS, democracies, or autocracies?

If you’re a dictator who can’t trust your own people in the military, you can still trust a machine to do your dirty work.
The Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos, in front of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Photo credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Dealing with a debacle: A better plan for US plutonium pit production

Given the serious cost, scheduling, and scientific questions about the US government's program for producing new plutonium cores (or pits) for nuclear warheads, the authors recommend the program be scaled back to manufacture 10 to 20 pits per year. Such a demonstration production line would establish the capacity to produce pits, if further research shows they are needed.

One year later, new dangers threaten Ukraine’s embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Water reservoir levels have dropped around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, reinforcing the need for urgent action to ensure its safety.

Countries have more than 100 laws on the books to combat misinformation. How well do they work?

Since 2015, there has been a huge increase in laws that ostensibly seek to counter misinformation. Since the pandemic began, this trend has only accelerated.
Credit: Matt Field. Based in part on photo by Morio CC SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

China is rapidly developing its military AI capabilities

China may lag behind the US military on metrics like the number of aircraft carriers it has, but it may be able to seize a “leapfrog opportunity” and invest in newer, cheaper weapons that could make carriers obsolete. That’s one conclusion in a new report about China’s well-funded, ambitious goal of becoming a world leader … Continued
A COVID-19 patient.

Could AI help bioterrorists unleash a new pandemic? A new study suggests not yet

From the White House to Silicon Valley, many officials have raised concerns that new AI technology could help bioterrorists plan attacks that could unleash new pandemics. A new report suggests that current cutting edge systems wouldn't provide much of an advantage over internet access to would-be terrorists.

Ukrainian dam is destroyed; nuclear plant lives in a ‘grace period’

The damage of a critical dam in Ukraine may spark a "slow-motion disaster" at the nearby Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

How international law applies to attacks on nuclear and associated facilities in Ukraine

Protocols of the Geneva Conventions, the rules of International Humanitarian Law, and Russia’s own military regulations prohibit the kinds of attacks that Russia made on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The question of who would hold Russia to account for violations of these international norms is at best unresolved.
ice melting on shore

Arctic warming, as seen by Alaska’s Native Inupiat

We’re taking on all the risks of these global and environmental changes, said one Native Inupiat whaling captain. “The train wreck is here... we’re just looking at it and trying to figure out: What do we do now? Who’s responsible? Now we have to deal with it.”
Illustration by Matt Field. Based in part on photo by Sean P. Anderson via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0.

Social media regulation and its discontents

Facebook dumped Alex Jones, a notorious conspiracy theorist from its platform last week. While the company did this on its own, countries in Europe are experimenting with tough new governmental regulations on social media--with mixed results.

Overview: nuclear scientists as assassination targets

The disadvantages of assassinating nuclear scientists are many, including the possibility that assassinations will inspire retaliation, reduce the likelihood of a diplomatic solution, and increase the difficulties international regulators face in monitoring a covert nuclear program. In the abstract, moral and legal strictures also weigh against such assassination efforts. As a practical matter, however, if an existential imperative is present, it will likely trump legal and ethical considerations when a nation contemplates assassinating nuclear scientists.

China is speeding up its plutonium recycling programs

The China National Nuclear Corporation is pushing toward the third stage of a plutonium-recycling program by negotiating with France’s nuclear fuel cycle company Orano (formerly Areva) over the purchase of a large commercial reprocessing plant and has proposed construction of large commercial fast-neutron reactors by 2028.
smokestacks and red sky

Supreme Court rules against EPA’s power to fight climate change

The 6-3 landmark decision will not only have massive implications for the Biden administration’s efforts to fight climate change—it also affects the federal government’s ability to set standards and regulate in other areas, such as clean air and water, consumer protections, banking, workplace safety, and public health.

Gathering storm: The industrial infrastructure catastrophe looming over America’s Gulf coast

A Bulletin/MIT analysis shows that almost 4,900 sites that handle toxic chemicals sit in flood-prone areas of Texas and Louisiana, posing a catastrophic environmental threat if a major hurricane hits the wrong place. The government's current plan to protect Gulf Coast infrastructure—the $29 billion Ike Dike—will not stand up to major storms, experts say.
US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, look on as German Chancellor Angela Merkel communes with French President Emmanuel Macron during ceremonies commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.

Why Germany won’t build its own nuclear weapons and remains skeptical of a Eurodeterrent

Aggressive Russian policies and the Trump administration’s transactional approach to alliances have put nuclear issues back on the agenda for European governments. Arguments for German acquisition of nuclear weapons have gained no traction among German decision makers, as this would require multiple costly and radical shifts of Berlin’s foreign and security policies.