Rome Declaration on Concerns Relating to Most Serious Threats—AI and Nuclear Weapons—Deserves Widespread Attention

Earlier this month (in July 2026), the participants of the Global Nobel Laureates Assembly at the Vatican adopted a very important declaration for the safety of humankind and indeed for all forms of life on earth. This declaration, titled Humanity at the Threshold: A Declaration on Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Weapon, deserves very wide attention. This carefully worded declaration is of great significance for achieving a safer future for humanity and more particularly for providing a safer future for children and the younger generation. The importance of this declaration increases further as it has been blessed by Pope Leo XIV, known for his deep commitment to peace and a safer present and future for humanity.

This declaration starts by saying, “Humanity stands at a defining moment in its history. More than eighty years after the dawn of the nuclear ageThe Nuclear AgeThe period of history following the first use of nuclear weapons in 1945, characterized by the development and proliferation of nuclear technology and the constant threat of nuclear warfare., and at the threshold of the age of artificial intelligence, we are presented with an unprecedented challenge. Never before has scientific progress offered such extraordinary opportunities while simultaneously creating such profound risks to our common future. When nuclear weapons were first being developed, the world had a chance to avoid living in a permanent dynamic of fear. We failed, and as a result, humanity has lived at the edge of nuclear annihilation.”

Addressing more recent concerns, the declaration states, “With AI, a similar danger presents itself. AI built into nuclear systems leaves little time for, or even replaces, human judgment in a crisis. This technology changes the context in which nuclear-armed states compete with each other. AI will likely cause mass job loss and sharpen economic competition between nuclear-armed states. AI amplifies cyber attacks that can fracture critical civilian and strategic infrastructure. AI enables information warfareInformation WarfareThe use and management of information and communication technologies in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent, often involving propaganda, disinformation, and cyber attacks.: Peace depends on a shared reality. Without facts there can be no truth; without truth there can be no trust; and without trust, no dialogue, no verification, and no restraint among nations.”

AI is a technology that causes economic, military, and social disruption, and is developing at a pace unprecedented in human history. In the midst of a worsening nuclear arms race, we are embarking on an equally dangerous AI race.

Addressing another important aspect of this danger, the statement notes, “The most advanced AI capabilities, computing resources, and data infrastructures are becoming increasingly concentrated in a small number of countries and corporations, creating significant asymmetries of power and limited incentives for cooperation. AI is a technology that causes economic, military, and social disruption, and is developing at a pace unprecedented in human history. In the midst of a worsening nuclear arms race, we are embarking on an equally dangerous AI race.”

In the middle of this serious crisis and conscious of shared responsibility toward present and future generations, the participants have called for the adoption of the following principles:

1. DISARMING THE NEXT ARMS RACE

The participants including Nobel Laureates, experts, and religious leaders have stated in this declaration, “We recognize that AI is an arena of strategic competition, like nuclear weapons before it. We call on governments, frontier AI developersFrontier AI DevelopersOrganizations or researchers at the forefront of developing the most advanced and powerful artificial intelligence systems, often pushing the boundaries of current capabilities., researchers and the international community to act now, through governance arrangements such as benefit-sharing mechanisms, the promotion of AI applications that serve human wellbeing, and restraint in its most destabilizing applications, to reduce these risks while the choice remains ours. We must disarm the next arms race, both AI and nuclear, before they define the next century.”

2. RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT

The Nobel Laureates and their co-participants at the Assembly further state, “AI developers should transparently publish the principles that guide the behaviour of their models and be held responsible and liable for those models’ adherence to such principles. AI should be developed and monitored to be in alignment with humanity’s interests, including international law and respect for human rights. Furthermore, no organization should initiate, and no government should permit, fully-automated recursive self-improvementFully-Automated Recursive Self-Improvement (AI)A hypothetical advanced stage of artificial intelligence where an AI system can autonomously modify and enhance its own code and architecture, leading to rapid and potentially uncontrollable increases in intelligence. in artificial intelligence systems without the means to monitor, and if needed, to halt such systems.”

3. RESPONSIBLE USE OF AI

Regarding the widely discussed issue of responsible AI use, the declaration states, “An automated system should never make the final decision to launch a nuclear weapon. We call for the adoption of an international treaty prohibiting the reckless integration of artificial intelligence into nuclear command, control, and launch systems so that meaningful human control is maintained. We must prevent the malicious use of artificial intelligence in cyber operations and attacks against critical nuclear infrastructure. Nuclear states must engage in fail-safe reviews to reduce the vulnerability of their nuclear forces to unauthorized control or manipulation by AI systems. We promote the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence to improve human well-being, accelerate scientific and medical progress, protect the environment, strengthen resilience, and advance peace, sustainable development, and the common good.

4. RESPONSIBLE GOVERNANCE

The declaration also has a section on governance, which states, “We call on governments, corporations, and international organizations to enable coordinated slowdown of frontier AI development by establishing shared mechanisms, such as verification and robust internal and external evaluations. We support the United Nations Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the promotion of other efforts in the spirit of Magnifica Humanitas. We call for expanded research and dialogue to propose new institutional pathways for international governance of AI and future implementation of global governance initiatives.”

5. RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP

There is another section on responsible leadership in this declaration addresses responsible leadership, stating, “We recognize that the challenges we face will likely be solved by the next generation of leaders. Young people must be empowered to engage with nuclear, AI, and other potentially catastrophic threats through education, mentorship, intergenerational partnership, and inclusive participation across all regions, cultures, and communities. We must advance education initiatives that foster ethical responsibility, critical thinking, media and AI literacy, and a culture of peace. We acknowledge that humanity faces numerous connected threats, the unintended consequences of which often impact those who do not have access or control over such technologies. We call for a digital commons that fosters data to advance understanding and action regarding nuclear weapons, ungoverned AI, and other existential threats.”

6. NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

Finally, addressing the all-important issue of nuclear disarmament, this declaration states, “We call for urgent, sustained, and good-faith negotiations leading, within an agreed and time-bound framework, to the verifiable and irreversible elimination of nuclear weapons. The international community must reject the normalization of nuclear weapons as permanent instruments of security and strengthen the humanitarian and legal norms embodied in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear WeaponsNon-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)An international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament. and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear WeaponsTreaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)A legally binding international agreement that prohibits the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use, and threat of use of nuclear weapons.. We call on nuclear-armed states to halt renewed arms racing and the expansion of their arsenals, resume bilateral and multilateral negotiations on arms control and disarmament, and fulfil their obligations and commitments under international law. States should pursue verifiable restraints and reductions; lower alert levels; extend decision time; move away from launch-on-warningLaunch-on-Warning (LoW)A military doctrine that dictates the launch of nuclear weapons upon receiving intelligence that an enemy attack has been launched, before the incoming warheads detonate. and prompt-retaliatory posturesPrompt-Retaliatory PosturesMilitary strategies that emphasize the ability to quickly and decisively respond to an attack, particularly a nuclear one, often implying a readiness for immediate counter-strikes.; reduce the role of nuclear weapons in security doctrines; strengthen crisis communications; prevent cyber operations against nuclear command, control, and communications; and build cooperation to prevent misunderstanding, miscalculation, and unintended escalation. Nuclear nations must promote policies and doctrines that diminish the role of nuclear weapons, and reduce the likelihood of first use and catastrophic war.”

This carefully worded declaration is of paramount importance and should be read, circulated, and endorsed very widely. Keeping in view the great importance of these issues, this declaration should not be a one-time effort and instead a number of follow-up actions should be taken up. In this context, this writer suggests taking such issues further by declaring the next decade (2027-37) as the ‘Decade for Saving Earth and Its Life’.

This writer has been carrying out a campaigning for nearly a decade, advocating for this demand, as such a declaration at the world level by the United Nations would significantly help initiate dialogues and discussions at several levels, fostering a grassroots campaign around these issues. There is clearly also a need for a strong peace (and disarmament) movement at the world level that functions with continuity.

The challenge ahead is that such concerns do not remain just at the level of top experts but are instead advanced significantly by a broad-based, worldwide peace movement, working in cooperation with the United Nations and other international peace organizations.