Giving Compass' Take:

• In this 80,000 Hours podcast, Daniel Ellsberg — leaker of the Pentagon Papers and author of a new book called The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner — discusses how we haven't come very far from the Cold War paranoia of the 1950s, and that our planet is in peril from nuclear weapons carelessly deployed.

• Basically, the nuclear chain of command is still a mess, and it's something that needs to be addressed. Is disarmament the answer? How can policymakers and other leaders urge action to reduce the nuclear threat? 

• Here's how artificial intelligence could increase the risk of nuclear war.

As [Daniel] Ellsberg explains based on first-hand experience as a nuclear war planner in the early stages of the Cold War, the notion that only the president is able to authorize the use of U.S. nuclear weapons is a carefully cultivated myth.

The authority to launch nuclear weapons is delegated alarmingly far down the chain of command — significantly raising the chance that a lone wolf or communication breakdown could trigger a nuclear catastrophe.

The whole justification for this is to defend against a "decapitating attack", where a first strike on Washington disables the ability of the U.S. hierarchy to retaliate. In a moment of crisis, the Russians might view this as their best hope of survival.

Ostensibly, this delegation removes Russia’s temptation to attempt a decapitating attack — the U.S. can retaliate even if its leadership is destroyed. This strategy only works, though, if you tell the enemy you’ve done it.

Instead, since the 50s this delegation has been one of the United States most closely guarded secrets, eliminating its strategic benefit, and rendering it another pointless menace to humanity.

Even setting aside the above, the size of the Russian and American nuclear arsenals today makes them doomsday machines of necessity. According to Ellsberg, if these arsenals are ever launched, whether accidentally or deliberately, they would wipe out almost all human life, and all large animals.

Strategically, the setup is stupid. Ethically, it is monstrous.

Listen to the full podcast about trying to dismantle a Doomsday Machine by Robert Wiblin and Keiran Harris at 80000hours.org.