Crypto news

16.06.2026
14:24

Trump's "Genesis Mission": Artificial Intelligence Takes Control of the US Nuclear Arsenal

AI in the military-min

The administration of Donald Trump has launched a large-scale AI initiative called "The Genesis Mission," which, as it turns out, directly affects the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. The country's Department of Energy has published a list of 26 priority areas, among which are tasks related to nuclear deterrence, weapons production, non-proliferation, and nuclear forensics.

Signed on November 24, 2025, Trump's executive order mandates the deployment of the "American Platform for Science and Security." This is an infrastructure that combines supercomputers from national laboratories, secure cloud AI environments, scientific datasets, and specialized models. The goal is to accelerate scientific discoveries, strengthen national security, and ensure "energy dominance."

Nuclear Block: Seven Game-Changing Tasks

In the list of tasks for "The Genesis Mission" published on February 12, seven areas directly related to the nuclear complex stand out:

  1. Assessment of nuclear threats: creation of a multimodal AI system that will combine data from sensors, simulations, and intelligence to reduce response time from days to hours.
  2. Digitization of historical data: translation of classified archives of nuclear tests and experiments spanning 80 years into machine-readable formats using text recognition, computer vision, and 3D reconstruction.
  3. Increasing the throughput of research facilities: an AI "operating system" for planning experiments, real-time adjustments, and integration of diagnostic data.
  4. Integration of design and production: reducing the cycle of creating new weapons systems "for a fraction of the traditional time and cost."
  5. Non-proliferation: analysis of satellite imagery, sensor data, and open sources to identify anomalies related to the spread of nuclear materials.
  6. Optimization of high-hazard facility operations: automation of safety requirements and documentation analysis using AI, which should reduce planning time by more than 50%.
  7. Nuclear forensics: accelerated analysis of samples and debris to determine the origin and history of material after an incident.

Separately mentioned is the task of accelerating the development of materials for strategic deterrence, including the use of AI agents to find new methods for purifying plutonium.

AI Does Not Get the "Button," but Risks Remain

It is important to emphasize: none of the documents discuss transferring the decision-making authority for using nuclear weapons to AI. As stated by Herbert Lin, a senior research scholar at the Stanford Center for International Security, no one in the military or the National Security Council is proposing to hand over the launch to an autonomous system. A Pentagon representative in February 2026 also confirmed that the decision remains with a human.

However, as an analyst, I see a more subtle threat. The widespread integration of AI into threat analysis, production, and planning creates the risk of a "black box," where algorithms can influence strategic decisions while remaining opaque to humans. Researcher Bahrad Sojansky rightly notes that accelerating science can affect not only beneficial but also dangerous areas, including biological and defense research.

My professional opinion: "The Genesis Mission" is not just a technological breakthrough but a fundamental shift in the balance of power. The U.S. is creating a precedent where AI becomes the "brain" of the nuclear complex. And although the button remains with a human, the speed and complexity of analysis that AI will provide could make its recommendations de facto decisive. This requires an unprecedented level of transparency and control, which does not yet exist.