Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator
Institute for Security and Technology
Posted
Feb 26, 2026
Location
Remote (US)
Type
Full-time
Mission
What you will drive
**
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Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator, Announcements
IST Launches the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator
Blog
February 10, 2026
The Institute for Security and Technology (IST) is pleased to announce the launch of the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator, a new, practitioner-focused initiative designed to strengthen decision-making at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear policy.
Applications are now live for the inaugural cohort, due on Sunday, February 28 at midnight
Fill out the application
The Institute for Security and Technology (IST) is pleased to announce the launch of the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator**, a new, practitioner-focused initiative designed to strengthen decision-making at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear policy.
As AI applications are increasingly integrated into nuclear weapons systems and related subsystems—including early warning, decision support, intelligence and predictive analysis, and other military platforms—nuclear policy professionals face a growing challenge: policy debates are accelerating faster than practitioners’ direct exposure to how modern AI tools and systems are actually built, tested, and deployed.
Funded through a $400,000 philanthropic grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator is designed to close this gap by providing mid-career professionals in the national security space with hands-on technical literacy and applied engagement. The Accelerator will train and support nuclear policy practitioners drawn from government, international organizations, the military, think tanks, and academia.
Participants will remain in their professional roles while engaging in a structured program that combines an immersive week-long technical bootcamp in the San Francisco Bay area, monthly expert-led virtual seminars, and collaborative applied policy labs. These components are designed to provide practical exposure to powerful AI tools and systems, and to deepen understanding of how they intersect with nuclear policy challenges and opportunities. By emphasizing practical fluency rather than research outputs alone, the Accelerator aims to seed a global network of practitioners capable of translating AI developments into concrete policy insights, tools, and guardrails that reduce escalation risks and improve crisis management.
“Combining policy acumen with deep technical expertise has long been a part of IST’s approach to a variety of security challenges, including those at the intersection of AI and nuclear weapons. As the rate of technological adoption in security policy threatens to outpace understanding of newer technologies, our nuclear policy professionals need access to hands-on training and interactive, in-depth learning opportunities. Thank you to Carnegie Corporation of New York for placing their trust in IST to lead this pioneering effort,” said IST CEO and Co-Founder Philip Reiner.
“The future of global security depends on high-caliber leaders who can understand and mitigate the risks of disruptive technologies and nuclear weapons,” said James McKeon, Program Officer in the International Program at Carnegie Corporation of New York. “IST offers extraordinary expertise and experience on these complex subjects. Through this initiative, they will help prepare the next generation of leaders to reduce the growing dangers at the intersection of AI and nuclear weapons.”
The Accelerator will be led by IST Senior Adjunct Advisor for Nuclear Policy Sahil V. Shah, who has been a partner of the organization for over a decade and brings deep leadership skills and subject-matter expertise to the effort.
“Discussions about the convergence of AI and nuclear weapons systems are often framed at a very high level, without sufficient grounding in how these technologies function in practice,” said Shah. “This program is designed to give nuclear policy practitioners direct exposure to AI tools and to the people building them—so that judgments about risks and opportunities are informed by how these systems actually behave in the real world, not how we imagine them to. I am grateful to Carnegie Corporation of New York for believing in the initiative and to the Institute for Security and Technology for providing the Accelerator with the strongest possible institutional home.”
“We urgently need more professionals who are deeply versed in nuclear policy issues to also develop rigorous expertise in how AI will transform these powerful nuclear systems. The Accelerator is a one-of-a-kind initiative, and I am excited to see how it starts to build community between the two often siloed worlds of nuclear and AI policy,” said Sylvia Mishra, IST Director of Nuclear Policy.
***Applications for the inaugural cohort are now open. ***
Call for Applications
Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator
The Institute for Security and Technology (IST) invites applications for the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator, a selective, practitioner-focused program for mid-career professionals working on nuclear policy and related security challenges.
About the Program
Funded by a philanthropic grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York), the Accelerator is designed to equip nuclear policy practitioners with the AI literacy, technical exposure, and cross-disciplinary networks needed to assess and respond to emerging risks and opportunities at the AI–nuclear intersection.
This is not a research fellowship or an academic program. Participants will not be expected to step away from their jobs. Instead, the Accelerator is structured to run alongside demanding professional roles, enabling immediate application of insights to live policy contexts.
Who Should Apply
IST seeks mid-career practitioners (typically 7–10+ years of experience) who are:
- Working on nuclear deterrence, arms control, nonproliferation, crisis management, risk reduction, or closely related fields
- In positions with near-term influence on policy, strategy, or institutional practice
- Motivated to deepen their understanding of AI systems and their implications for nuclear decision-making
- Interested in applied learning rather than purely theoretical or research-only engagement
Applicants may come from government, international organizations, the military, think tanks, academia, or relevant non-governmental sectors.
Applications from outside the United States are welcome. However, as this is our inaugural cohort, preference will be given to candidates from the U.S., allies, and partner countries. We hope to broaden the scale and geographical diversity of the cohort in its next iteration.
What Makes the Accelerator Distinct
Participants will gain rare, structured access to:
- Direct engagement with AI practitioners and researchers
- Live demonstrations and walk-throughs of AI systems and evaluation methods
- Applied exercises tied to concrete nuclear-policy use cases, including early warning, escalation management, verification, and crisis communications
Program Structure (Overview)
- In-Person San Francisco Bay Area Technical Immersion: Fully-funded, five-day in-person bootcamp providing foundational exposure to modern AI systems and practitioners
- Virtual Expert Seminar Series: Monthly virtual sessions on specific AI–nuclear intersections
- Applied Policy Labs: Small-group projects producing policy-ready tools or frameworks
- Policy Engagement: Briefings and short outputs aimed at decision-makers
Inaugural cohort activities will begin in March 2026 and end in December 2026. Participants are expected to commit fully to the program’s core components and to engage actively with the cohort throughout the program.
If participation requires approval from your employer, please indica...
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What makes you a great fit
**
Skip to content
Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator, Announcements
IST Launches the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator
Blog
February 10, 2026
The Institute for Security and Technology (IST) is pleased to announce the launch of the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator, a new, practitioner-focused initiative designed to strengthen decision-making at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear policy.
Applications are now live for the inaugural cohort, due on Sunday, February 28 at midnight
Fill out the application
The Institute for Security and Technology (IST) is pleased to announce the launch of the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator**, a new, practitioner-focused initiative designed to strengthen decision-making at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear policy.
As AI applications are increasingly integrated into nuclear weapons systems and related subsystems—including early warning, decision support, intelligence and predictive analysis, and other military platforms—nuclear policy professionals face a growing challenge: policy debates are accelerating faster than practitioners’ direct exposure to how modern AI tools and systems are actually built, tested, and deployed.
Funded through a $400,000 philanthropic grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator is designed to close this gap by providing mid-career professionals in the national security space with hands-on technical literacy and applied engagement. The Accelerator will train and support nuclear policy practitioners drawn from government, international organizations, the military, think tanks, and academia.
Participants will remain in their professional roles while engaging in a structured program that combines an immersive week-long technical bootcamp in the San Francisco Bay area, monthly expert-led virtual seminars, and collaborative applied policy labs. These components are designed to provide practical exposure to powerful AI tools and systems, and to deepen understanding of how they intersect with nuclear policy challenges and opportunities. By emphasizing practical fluency rather than research outputs alone, the Accelerator aims to seed a global network of practitioners capable of translating AI developments into concrete policy insights, tools, and guardrails that reduce escalation risks and improve crisis management.
“Combining policy acumen with deep technical expertise has long been a part of IST’s approach to a variety of security challenges, including those at the intersection of AI and nuclear weapons. As the rate of technological adoption in security policy threatens to outpace understanding of newer technologies, our nuclear policy professionals need access to hands-on training and interactive, in-depth learning opportunities. Thank you to Carnegie Corporation of New York for placing their trust in IST to lead this pioneering effort,” said IST CEO and Co-Founder Philip Reiner.
“The future of global security depends on high-caliber leaders who can understand and mitigate the risks of disruptive technologies and nuclear weapons,” said James McKeon, Program Officer in the International Program at Carnegie Corporation of New York. “IST offers extraordinary expertise and experience on these complex subjects. Through this initiative, they will help prepare the next generation of leaders to reduce the growing dangers at the intersection of AI and nuclear weapons.”
The Accelerator will be led by IST Senior Adjunct Advisor for Nuclear Policy Sahil V. Shah, who has been a partner of the organization for over a decade and brings deep leadership skills and subject-matter expertise to the effort.
“Discussions about the convergence of AI and nuclear weapons systems are often framed at a very high level, without sufficient grounding in how these technologies function in practice,” said Shah. “This program is designed to give nuclear policy practitioners direct exposure to AI tools and to the people building them—so that judgments about risks and opportunities are informed by how these systems actually behave in the real world, not how we imagine them to. I am grateful to Carnegie Corporation of New York for believing in the initiative and to the Institute for Security and Technology for providing the Accelerator with the strongest possible institutional home.”
“We urgently need more professionals who are deeply versed in nuclear policy issues to also develop rigorous expertise in how AI will transform these powerful nuclear systems. The Accelerator is a one-of-a-kind initiative, and I am excited to see how it starts to build community between the two often siloed worlds of nuclear and AI policy,” said Sylvia Mishra, IST Director of Nuclear Policy.
***Applications for the inaugural cohort are now open. ***
Call for Applications
Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator
The Institute for Security and Technology (IST) invites applications for the Andrew Carnegie AI–Nuclear Policy Accelerator, a selective, practitioner-focused program for mid-career professionals working on nuclear policy and related security challenges.
About the Program
Funded by a philanthropic grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York), the Accelerator is designed to equip nuclear policy practitioners with the AI literacy, technical exposure, and cross-disciplinary networks needed to assess and respond to emerging risks and opportunities at the AI–nuclear intersection.
This is not a research fellowship or an academic program. Participants will not be expected to step away from their jobs. Instead, the Accelerator is structured to run alongside demanding professional roles, enabling immediate application of insights to live policy contexts.
Who Should Apply
IST seeks mid-career practitioners (typically 7–10+ years of experience) who are:
- Working on nuclear deterrence, arms control, nonproliferation, crisis management, risk reduction, or closely related fields
- In positions with near-term influence on policy, strategy, or institutional practice
- Motivated to deepen their understanding of AI systems and their implications for nuclear decision-making
- Interested in applied learning rather than purely theoretical or research-only engagement
Applicants may come from government, international organizations, the military, think tanks, academia, or relevant non-governmental sectors.
Applications from outside the United States are welcome. However, as this is our inaugural cohort, preference will be given to candidates from the U.S., allies, and partner countries. We hope to broaden the scale and geographical diversity of the cohort in its next iteration.
What Makes the Accelerator Distinct
Participants will gain rare, structured access to:
- Direct engagement with AI practitioners and researchers
- Live demonstrations and walk-throughs of AI systems and evaluation methods
- Applied exercises tied to concrete nuclear-policy use cases, including early warning, escalation management, verification, and crisis communications
Program Structure (Overview)
- In-Person San Francisco Bay Area Technical Immersion: Fully-funded, five-day in-person bootcamp providing foundational exposure to modern AI systems and practitioners
- Virtual Expert Seminar Series: Monthly virtual sessions on specific AI–nuclear intersections
- Applied Policy Labs: Small-group projects producing policy-ready tools or frameworks
- Policy Engagement: Briefings and short outputs aimed at decision-makers
Inaugural cohort activities will begin in March 2026 and end in December 2026. Participants are expected to commit fully to the program’s core components and to engage actively with the cohort throughout the program.
If participation requires approval from your employer, please indica...