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but I sure would not want to see it "democratized"

Nuclear power is already "democratized" by design. The basic framework of the non-proliferation treaty is that signatories get to use nuclear power (and receive international assistance developing nuclear power) in exchange for a commitment not to develop nuclear weapons.

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Until you can personally sign a non-proliferation agreement and then order processed uranium, nuclear power has not been “democratized” in the sense being talked about here.

Private entities supply nuclear fuel all over the world

https://nuclear.gepower.com/fuel-a-plant

my main point, though, is that nuclear energy is a fairly strange, highly-regulated-at-all-levels beast with its own long complicated history so it's not a particularly straightforward parallel to a hypothetical weapon-of-mass-destruction-enabling genetic engineering

Private entities under strict regulation, yes. Individuals in basements? Not so much. Any such person will be placed in custody in most countries if caught. I remember that happening more than once. I'd provide you a link but would rather not google the subject...

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