Older Americans grew up with an early awareness of the threat of nuclear weapons, thanks to “duck and cover” drills in schools. But many Americans today are only vaguely aware that there are enough nuclear weapons globally to destroy the entire Earth many times over.

Hosted by the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Tech Arts, and Spelman College, the bomb event on Sept. 16 gave the audience an uncomfortable and unsettling front-row seat to the nuclear threat that hangs largely unnoticed over our daily lives.

The event began with the bomb film, an almost hour-long film that combines disturbing and sometimes beautiful archival footage, animation, music, and text to explore the complex cultural and technological impact of nuclear weapons. The film is available streaming on Amazon, Apple TV, Tubi, Roku, and other platforms.

After the screening, there was a panel discussion with former Senator Sam Nunn, co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative; Smriti Keshari, one of the bomb’s creators; and Rachel Whitlark, a Georgia Tech expert on nuclear proliferation, moderated by WABE host Rose Scott.

“When you look at the film you realize that basically this is God’s universe at stake. It’s not winning or losing a war. It’s a question of whether we destroy the Earth. And that means all of us, whether we want to or not, have to pay attention to it,” Nunn said.

The panel discussed the need for more public debate and awareness of nuclear threats. Keshari said her team conducted informal interviews with members of the public while working on the bomb. They were surprised by the number of people who thought nuclear weapons were no longer a real threat and had little knowledge of how many there were and where.

“I remember when we were editing the film in Los Angeles, I would drive past the Hollywood sign and I would think ‘instead of the Hollywood sign, what if there was just a nuclear weapon right here?’ What if, instead of every single weapon being hidden underground or on a submarine, they were above and people could actually see them? We would start having a lot of strong opinions about them.”

The panel discussed how AI could accelerate nuclear threats. Whitlark outlined how AI’s increasingly intense use of power may ramp up demand for nuclear power across the globe.

“We can very quickly get from the data needs of AI to the need to power those data centers,” Whitlark said. “One of the ways we may be doing that is with nuclear energy, and with nuclear energy comes the possibility of nuclear weapons. We need to be thoughtful about that.”

Spreading awareness among young people of the threat of nuclear war or accidents is particularly important, said Nunn.

“It may take 20 years but if we don’t do that the dangers we now see and the dangers we saw during the Cold War are going to get much, much worse with the speed of nuclear weapons, the lack of decision time, and the conflict between nuclear powers,” Nunn said.

The bomb exhibition runs free through Oct. 16 at the Ferst Center and includes student art and a graphic narrative on nuclear close calls.