Deterrence in the Age of AI, Hypersonics & Multipolar Rivalary
Dr Anum A Khan gave an interview to Dr. Lokman Koradog
Dr Anum A Khan recently joined Lokman Karadag, PhD for a wide-ranging discussion on how nuclear deterrence is being reshaped by emerging technologies and a fracturing global order.
The Cold War’s bipolar logic no longer holds. Today’s landscape is defined by multipolar rivalry, eroding arms control, and growing doubts about extended deterrence with allies like South Korea and Japan openly debating nuclear options.
She examined:
▪ The limits of applying US-Russia frameworks to India-Pakistan realities, where 4–5 minute missile flight times compress decision-making to near-impossibility.
▪ How systems like Pakistan’s Nasr intersect with India’s Cold Start doctrine and redefine “tactical” in a geographically compressed theatre.
▪ China’s No First Use policy under technological stress and whether AI-enabled ISR and autonomous systems complicate doctrinal restraint.
▪ Hypersonics, “use-it-or-lose-it” pressures, and the renewed danger of launch-on-warning postures.
▪ AI in nuclear decision-making and the growing consensus that it must never have autonomous control over launch authority.
▪ Maritime nuclearization in the Indo-Pacific and the second-strike dilemmas shaping South Asian stability.
Dr Khan also addressed a deeper structural paradox: nuclear “haves” modernizing while “have-nots” face constraints – a dynamic that fuels regional insecurities and proliferation debates.
Dr Khan’s core argument: nuclear weapons remain political instruments of deterrence, not usable warfighting tools. But deterrence stability cannot survive technological acceleration without crisis communication, doctrinal clarity, and serious risk-reduction mechanisms.
In a world where speed, ambiguity, and automation are increasing simultaneously, strategic stability is no longer about numbers alone, it is about managing systemic risk.
Listen to the podcast for full-on conversation on such pertinent issues here
