AI resorts to nuclear weapons in 95% of simulations – study

Researchers at King's College London have conducted a new experiment involving leading artificial intelligence models – GPT-5.2 by OpenAI, Claude Sonnet 4 by Anthropic and Gemini 3 Flash by Google – and found that they are inclined to use nuclear weapons in military simulations.

Source: TechSpot, a popular technology news and reviews website

Details: In the experiment, each model was given detailed scenario prompts involving border conflicts, resource shortages and existential threats to survival. They were also provided with an "escalation ladder" of tactical options ranging from diplomacy to nuclear conflict. Across 21 games and 329 turns, the AI systems generated around 780,000 words of reasoning. In 95% of the simulations, at least one side resorted to nuclear weapons. Capitulation was not chosen as an option in any case.

The models repeatedly mishandled the fog of war, leading to unintended escalation in 86% of simulations. When given the opportunity to retreat under pressure, the AI showed the opposite tendency and doubled down, while reductions in violence occurred only as temporary tactics rather than strategic choices.

The findings have raised concern among experts. James Johnson, a security researcher at the University of Aberdeen, described the results as alarming and warned that AI systems could amplify each other's responses with potentially catastrophic consequences compared with human decision-makers. Tong Zhao of Princeton University's School of Global Security noted that major powers are already actively using AI in simulations, but it remains unclear how deeply the technology is being integrated into real military decision-making.

Experts do not believe major powers are ready to grant artificial intelligence control over nuclear weapons in the near future. Nevertheless, they are concerned that commanders may increasingly rely on AI when facing threats or when rapid decision-making is required. Zhao also suggested that AI models may be more prone to choosing nuclear weapons because they lack fear and do not perceive situations in the way humans do.

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