Vatican supports Nobel laureates to seek ban on AI use in nuclear command systems

More than 200 Nobel laureates, artificial intelligence (AI) experts, former heads of state and government, academics and civil society leaders gathered this week at the papal gardens of Castel Gandolfo to address what they described as two of the defining challenges of the modern era: the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and the growing threat posed by nuclear weapons.

Following three days of discussions, participants signed a declaration on July 16 calling for a legally binding international treaty that would "prohibit the reckless integration of artificial intelligence into nuclear command, control, and launch systems," as Vatican-affiliated media outlets report.

The document, officially titled the Declaration for an Unarmed and Disarming Peace in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Nuclear and Autonomous Weapons, New Digital Protocols, and Emerging Models of Digital Development, was developed under the auspices of the Domus Communis Foundation, an organisation established to promote ethical reflection on artificial intelligence.

The initiative was supported by a broad coalition of international organisations and academic institutions, including the Nobel Laureate Assembly for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the Nobel Women's Initiative, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Pugwash, the Yunus Centre, The Catholic University of America, the University of Chicago, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, the University of Notre Dame, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Soka Gakkai.

Fear of AI-enhanced nuclear arms race

The declaration describes the current historical moment as "an unprecedented challenge," arguing that while artificial intelligence presents enormous opportunities, it also carries significant risks, including "mass job loss and sharpen economic competition between nuclear-armed states."

The signatories warn that the concentration of advanced technologies in the hands of a small number of governments and major corporations could deepen global inequalities and accelerate economic, military and social transformations.

The declaration also expresses concern over the simultaneous acceleration of the nuclear arms race and what it describes as "an equally dangerous AI race." Echoing Pope Leo XIV's call for "an unarmed and disarming peace," the document rejects a global security model based "on fear, domination, or the permanent threat of mutual destruction."

A central recommendation focuses on the role of artificial intelligence in nuclear deterrence.

"An automated system should never make the final decision to launch a nuclear weapon," the declaration states.

The document therefore calls for "meaningful human control" over all decisions involving the use of nuclear weapons.

Beyond military applications, the declaration proposes recognising a global "digital commons" to encourage responsible data sharing and strengthen international governance of artificial intelligence.

It also reiterates the urgency of nuclear disarmament, urging governments to begin negotiations aimed at the "verifiable and irreversible elimination of nuclear weapons."

The declaration concludes with an appeal for states to progressively reduce the role of nuclear arsenals in their security strategies, warning that "Our survival and the survival of future generations are at stake."

Calls for stronger global governance

Among the speakers, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos stressed the need for effective international governance to address the challenges posed by emerging technologies.

Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bangladeshi economist, reflected on what he described as a historic transition, characterising the present as a passage between the end of one civilisation and the beginning of another. He also underscored the central role that younger generations will play in shaping the future.

Other participants included Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard, leading AI security experts, specialists on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, and Nobel Prize-winning physicist David Gross.

By Nazrin Sadigova