Preventing nuclear war

Authors: Grant Fellows

Introduction

Nuclear war remains a pressing existential risk. A full US-Russia exchange could kill hundreds of millions directly, followed by nuclear winter potentially causing billions of famine deaths. These risks are highlighted by recent escalations (e.g., Ukraine, Taiwan tensions) and the field is considered neglected, especially in private philanthropy, by Giving What we Can.

How engineers can help

Engineers are critical in ensuring the security of nuclear systems. In governments, engineers are needed to secure nuclear material and to create detection technologies to prevent the illicit production or movement of fissile material.

Organizations such as allfed are working to ensure enough food could be produced to feed the world, even after a catastrophic event such as a nuclear winter. They are pursuing many engineering pathways to achieve this goal.

Resources to check out

80000 Hours career review on nuclear safety

Podcast on engineering for nuclear safety

A series of articles from Rethink Priorities on risks from nuclear weapons, scenario analysis and forecasting

The Alliance to feed the Earth in Disasters (allfed)

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