AI and Nuclear Fusion Vol.7: Geopolitics — Who Builds the Sun, and Why

title: "AI and Nuclear Fusion Vol.7: Geopolitics — Who Builds the Sun, and Why" emoji: "🌍" type: "idea" topics: ["nuclear", "fusion", "geopolitics", "energy", "investment"] published: true AI and Nuclear Fusion Vol.7: Geopolitics — Who Builds the Sun, and Why Series: "Thinking Seriously About Nuclear Fusion with AI" Volume 7 of 10 | Geopolitics & Energy Strategy Author: dosanko_tousan × Claude (Anthropic) License: MIT Date: 2026-02-15 Executive Summary Volumes 1–6 of this series established the physics. The conclusions were blunt: D-T ignition is within reach — we are a factor of ~2 away in the fusion triple product (Vol.2). Tritium does not exist in sufficient quantity — Monte Carlo analysis shows 88% of scenarios yield TBR < 1.0 (Vol.3). Materials data stops at 20 dpa; reactors need 100 dpa — a 5× extrapolation into the unknown (Vol.4). AI compresses timelines by ~25% but cannot replace missing experiments (Vol.5). Advanced fuels (p-¹¹B) cannot thermally ignite, but the calculus reve