thebulletin.org By Alice Saltini | December 22, 2025

In November, 115 states voted in favor, eight voted against, and 44 abstained from voting on a resolution adopted by the General Assembly’s First Committee that examines the possible risks of integrating AI into nuclear weapons systems. Image: depositphotos

The United Nations rarely moves fast on disarmament. This year, though, it did something unusual. On November 6, the General Assembly’s First Committee, where states debate over questions of disarmament and international security, adopted a resolution that directly looks at the possible risks of integrating artificial intelligence into nuclear weapons systems, especially in nuclear command, control, and communications, known as NC3. Austria, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Malta, and Mexico pushed the text, bringing into a formal setting a problem that has mostly lived in expert circles and informal dialogues.

With 115 states voting in favor, eight voting against, and 44 abstaining, support was broad. Nuclear-armed states and many of their allies voted against the resolution or chose to abstain. In contrast, the Global South and most non-nuclear-weapon states expressed strong support. This split reflects how each group views threats and what policies they prioritize. It also reveals how early and unsettled global thinking on AI in the nuclear field still is. Rather than seeing the outcome of the vote as a clear-cut failure or success, it may be best read as an initial test case. In other words, the resolution was an early attempt to translate a fast-moving technical debate into diplomatic language.

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