From nuclear safety to AI: containing agents with signals they can't produce
WeldPond · x · 2026-10-12
Security expert dinodaizovi draws a parallel between AI safety and nuclear weapons safety history. Sandia National Labs once showed fire could short circuit boards and defeat safety mechanisms, prompting the development of 'strong links' in Enhanced Nuclear Detonation Safety (ENDS) — designed to be physically impossible to trigger by random electricity, fire, or crashes, activatable only by a complex 'intent' signal nature can't produce.
He argues we're having the same debate around AI safety today: the solution is to contain agents using signals they cannot possibly produce. Links to Steve Bellovin's historical writeup included.
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