Ep 234 How AI Helped Me Make ZERO: A Field Guide to a Weaponless World (Part 1)

Episode 245 of the Peace Is Here with Avis Kalfsbeek podcast, hosted by Avis Kalfsbeek, titled "Ep 234 How AI Helped Me Make ZERO: A Field Guide to a Weaponless World (Part 1)" was published on March 15, 2026 and runs 19 minutes.

March 15, 2026 ·19m · Peace Is Here with Avis Kalfsbeek

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Summary

How AI Helped Me Make ZERO: A Field Guide to a Weaponless World (Part 1) In this episode I share the origin story of my book ZERO: An Every Person’s Field Guide to a Weaponless World. The project began with a simple research question: Have people ever written real plans for global disarmament? To explore the question, I opened a research conversation with my AI collaborator “G.” In this episode I read part of that exchange and explain how it led me to discover a surprisingly rich body of historical work known as General and Complete Disarmament (GCD), detailed proposals for eliminating national militaries and building systems capable of maintaining peace. The research pointed to several key historical sources, including: The Clark–Sohn Plan (1958) — a comprehensive proposal for restructuring the United Nations and phasing out national militaries over time. The McCloy–Zorin Accords (1961) — a Cold War agreement in which both the United States and the Soviet Union formally endorsed the goal of total disarmament. Superpower draft treaties (1962) submitted to international negotiations, revealing that the major disagreement was not the goal of disarmament but how to verify compliance. One of the central discoveries in this research is that the blueprints for disarmament were never lost. Many of them remain archived in institutions such as the United Nations and the Kennedy Presidential Library. In many ways, the work today is less about inventing a plan than about rediscovering and updating the ones that already exist. This episode is Part 1 of the story behind the book ZERO. You can download the book free here: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/zero Topics: The concept of General and Complete Disarmament; Cold War–era plans for eliminating national militaries; The Clark–Sohn proposal for world law; The McCloy–Zorin agreement between the U.S. and USSR; Why verification and inspections became the major obstacle; How a research conversation with AI helped spark the book ZERO Get the free book ZERO: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/zero Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “Dalai Lama Riding a Bike” Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com/

Episode Description

How AI Helped Me Make ZERO: A Field Guide to a Weaponless World (Part 1)

In this episode I share the origin story of my book ZERO: An Every Person’s Field Guide to a Weaponless World. The project began with a simple research question: Have people ever written real plans for global disarmament?

To explore the question, I opened a research conversation with my AI collaborator “G.” In this episode I read part of that exchange and explain how it led me to discover a surprisingly rich body of historical work known as General and Complete Disarmament (GCD), detailed proposals for eliminating national militaries and building systems capable of maintaining peace.

The research pointed to several key historical sources, including:

The Clark–Sohn Plan (1958) — a comprehensive proposal for restructuring the United Nations and phasing out national militaries over time.
The McCloy–Zorin Accords (1961) — a Cold War agreement in which both the United States and the Soviet Union formally endorsed the goal of total disarmament.
Superpower draft treaties (1962) submitted to international negotiations, revealing that the major disagreement was not the goal of disarmament but how to verify compliance.

One of the central discoveries in this research is that the blueprints for disarmament were never lost. Many of them remain archived in institutions such as the United Nations and the Kennedy Presidential Library. In many ways, the work today is less about inventing a plan than about rediscovering and updating the ones that already exist.

This episode is Part 1 of the story behind the book ZERO.

You can download the book free here: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/zero

Topics: The concept of General and Complete Disarmament; Cold War–era plans for eliminating national militaries; The Clark–Sohn proposal for world law; The McCloy–Zorin agreement between the U.S. and USSR; Why verification and inspections became the major obstacle; How a research conversation with AI helped spark the book ZERO