The planned upgrade of the US nuclear arsenal would connect the weapons digitally, a dangerous mix at a time when AI is making hackers far more capable.

• The coming nuclear modernization will link the arsenal through digital networks instead of keeping it isolated.
• AI tools are getting better at breaking into computer systems at an accelerating pace, and have already found holes in classified US systems.
• The worst case is a criminal group or hostile state hacking in, or even firing another country's nuclear weapons without permission.
• That risk also cuts against calls to declassify and publish the findings, since the details themselves would be a roadmap for attackers.

Outlook: Pressure will grow to decide how much of the nuclear system stays offline and how much of what AI finds ever gets made public.