In all the coverage I read of LK-99, one angle I didn’t see covered is what the potential unintended and negative consequences of an APRTSC might be. For example, could access to such a material destabilize the global economy and geopolitics? Would it enable more powerful and more widely available weapons of mass destruction? Could corresponding advances in computing amplify and accelerate the risks and impacts of AI without time to mitigate them? Perhaps thankfully this is all hypothetical now that LK-99 appears to be a bust. But still seems important (and interesting!) to think through and understand these and other non-obvious potential second and third order consequences if humanity were to acquire such a potentially disruptive technology in the future.
Interesting materials can be used to make all sorts of exotic, creative weapons right now. Fortunately, the people with the motivation, means and knowledge to do so are rare, and tend to not use them indiscriminately.<p>...Anyway, I can't think of a reason why it would be a particular risk. For instance, they wouldn't really exceed the power density of shaped explosives, or enable cheap super coilguns overnight.