How the nuclear arms race went high tech

Ian Bremmer Explains: How the Nuclear Arms Race Went High Tech | GZERO World

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer takes a look at the current state of the nuclear arms race. At its peak in the 1980s, the global inventory of nuclear warheads exceeded 70,000, but the global stockpile has shrunk significantly since then. Today, climate change is cited as a greater man-made threat to the planet than nuclear warfare. But in recent years, as nuclear disarmament worldwide has slowed to a crawl, world powers are engaging in a new kind of nuclear arms race: a technological one.

Watch the episode: Nuclear weapons: more dangerous than ever?

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down how the US and China are both betting their futures on massive infrastructure booms, with China building cities and railways while America builds data centers and grid updates for AI. But are they building too much, too fast?

Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022.
Patrick Pleul/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

$1 trillion: Tesla shareholders approved a $1-trillion pay package for owner Elon Musk, a move that is set to make him the world’s first trillionaire – if the company meets certain targets. The pay will come in the form of stocks.

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz walk after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), in Belem, Brazil, on November 7, 2025.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado

When it comes to global warming, the hottest ticket in the world right now is for the COP30 conference, which runs for the next week in Brazil. But with world leaders putting climate lower on the agenda, what can the conference achieve?