‘Knowledge is power’: Researcher building tech-for-good tool to detect early signs of nuclear escalation
Alžběta Dvořáková is passionate about working at the intersection of emerging tech, arms control, and arms control in outer space
Meet the researcher using social media to educate people about arms control as she creates ‘tech-for-good’ to monitor nuclear risk and detect early signs of escalation.
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As a researcher at the Peace Research Center Prague, an inspector for nuclear non-proliferation, and a PhD candidate at Charles University in Prague, Alžběta Dvořáková is passionate about working at the intersection of emerging tech, arms control, and arms control in outer space.
She first became interested in this during her undergraduate studies which “immediately intrigued” her, from there she interned with the United Nations where she worked on disarmament, outer space security, and nuclear non-proliferation.
Alžběta told LBC: “Since then, my path has been mainly focused on arms control. What I really like about this field is how complex it is. It sits at the intersection of law, technology, international relations, and history. You need to understand all these layers to really grasp the risks.
“It’s also historically a male-dominated field, and I think we need more youth and women in it. And not just for representation, but because different perspectives matter.
“We need people who question the status quo and think about risks in new ways. That’s especially important now, as emerging and disruptive technologies are becoming a big part of the security equation.”
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Alžběta is now adding another feather to her cap by taking her knowledge about this complex area and sharing it on Instagram, where she makes all of this information accessible to everyone.
Her videos dissect current affairs and news around the issues at hand, but she also shares further reading so her followers can build up their own knowledge, and explains arms control and nuclear proliferation in a simple way.
She has already built a platform of 11,000 followers and racked up more than 200,000 views across her videos.
“I started educating on Instagram because I genuinely believe that knowledge is power,” Alžběta said.
“Civil society plays a huge role in accountability, and people should understand the risks shaping global security because even though these topics are widely discussed among experts and governments, this should matter to all of us.”
One of the biggest misconceptions about nuclear weapons, she said, is that they are purely a relic of the Cold War.
But, this isn’t the case. They still very much shape global security, it’s just done behind closed doors.
“Deterrence can reduce some risks, but it also creates others, like miscalculation, technical failures, or decisions made under extreme pressure,” she said.
“We’ve already seen several close calls in history, which shows the system is not as stable and simple as people often assume.”
Alžběta is also turning her expert knowledge into a tool that will make it possible to track the signs and signals of nuclear risk by bringing together open-source information that is scattered in multiple places into one space.
It will detect early indicators of escalation, such as weapons testing, nuclear signaling, or stress in arms control agreements, and will turn these into insights that help others in their decision making and research.
She is sharing the journey on her Instagram page too.
“Arms control is struggling to keep up with technological change, and many international processes move slowly. So instead of feeling helpless, I’d rather try to build something proactive from the ground up,” she said.
“I also started sharing this process on Instagram, because today we all have the possibility to create technology and use it for positive impact. Whether it’s human rights, climate, or security. People don’t have to wait for institutions, because we all have some ideas and possibilities.”
The tech isn’t intended to be a prediction tool, but it can be used to inform society when these risks are increasing.
The first prototype is a simple map-based interface and alert system and Alžběta hopes that with time, it could evolve into a broader transparency platform.
“Transparency has limits, and I’m careful not to create something that could unintentionally increase instability or spread misinformation,” she said.