When the Lights Go Out. Understanding Electric Grid Vulnerabilities and the Role of AI

Did that really happen? Yesterday, millions across Spain, Portugal, and parts of France were unexpectedly plunged into darkness. In a few short minutes, life paused. Traffic lights failed. Phones stopped charging. Elevators froze. Hospitals flickered into emergency mode.

The power that silently fuels our modern existence vanished for a few hours. And for those hours, the vulnerability of our electric grid was on full display.

This occurrence isn't about conspiracy theories. I've joked before (half-seriously) that anything tech-related can be switched off at the push of a button. But this blackout wasn't a meme. It was a wake-up call. And if we're paying attention, it tells us two things: one, the backbone of our digital age is far more fragile than we'd like to believe, and two, the technology we're pouring our hopes into, including AI, still has a long way to go in securing that backbone.

We Don't Think About Power Until It's Gone

Electricity is like oxygen in the digital age. Invisible, expected, essential. We never think about how easy it is to flip a switch, and the light comes on, right?. We plug in a phone and expect it to charge. Yet, the moment it disappears, our dependency becomes startlingly clear. The blackout across southern Europe reminded us just how interconnected and delicate the electric power system is and how quickly life unravels when it falters.

We tend to associate the word "grid" with something tough, metallic, or solid. But today's electric grid is an intricate web of analog legacies, digital upgrades, and patchworked technologies held together by human effort, regulation, and a bit of luck. While we dream of smart cities and clean energy, the backbone carrying that power often creaks under the pressure of aging infrastructure, cyber vulnerabilities, and growing demand.

AI Is Here, But Not Yet the Savior

There's been a lot of buzz around AI and how it will revolutionize the energy sector. And yes, it's doing some incredible things, and I have spoken, if you remember, to some electric experts sharing the incredible solutions already available. AI is helping predict demand surges, optimize energy distribution, detect anomalies, and even manage the integration of renewables into national grids. In some cases, AI is already preventing disasters before they happen.

Yesterday's blackout was a reminder that AI is not a silver bullet.

While AI can process mountains of data and detect trends no human eye can catch, it still depends on the systems it's meant to protect. It can't replace infrastructure that was never built for resilience. It can't patch policy gaps or force stakeholders to collaborate. And, crucially, it can't act if it's disconnected. If the grid goes down, so do the servers running the AI. What then?

We are in a transitional phase. It's a promising one but transitional nonetheless. The dream of a self-healing, fully autonomous grid managed by artificial intelligence is not yet our reality. And yesterday, millions of Europeans felt that gap firsthand.

The Fragility Beneath the Hype

It's easy to get swept up in tech optimism. I often do, I believe in the power of innovation to solve our biggest problems. But optimism doesn't excuse complacency. There is a fine line between faith in progress and ignoring the cracks under our feet.

We are racing toward a future where everything runs on electricity, such as transport, homes, industry, and even our defense systems. But if our grids remain vulnerable, everything else collapses with them.

And the threats are very real. Cyberattacks on power grids have already happened in Ukraine, the U.S., and elsewhere. Extreme weather, too, is pushing grids to their limits. Combine that with fragmented regulatory frameworks, lack of real-time data sharing, and outdated physical infrastructure, and you've got a perfect storm. One that even the most innovative AI may struggle to navigate if we don't build systems with resilience at their core.

So, Where Do We Go From Here?

The answer is not to fear technology but to embed it wisely and urgently.

We need stronger public-private partnerships that make AI and digitalization accessible to grid operators of all sizes, not just the biggest players. We need governments to invest not just in AI R&D but in the physical upgrades that will allow AI to be effective when it's needed most.

We need cross-border collaboration because electricity doesn't stop at national borders. What happened in Spain and Portugal didn't stay there.

Power systems are interconnected, and so must be our solutions.

And we need to bring people into the conversation.

A Moment of Darkness To A Call to Action

I write this today to call for awareness. The blackout yesterday was a glimpse into what could become far more frequent if we don't act with urgency and intention.

Yes, AI is part of the solution. But let's not romanticize it. Until we pair smart technology with smart governance, robust infrastructure, and human accountability, we will remain at risk.

With every crisis comes a window of opportunity. This blackout reminded us of what's possible when we choose not just to restore power, but to rethink how we power our world.

So here's my question:

Now that the lights are back on, what will we do differently before the next blackout? And this question goes mainly to the governments and those in power, since they rule this domain.