Could AI swarms take down the grid?
NOVEMBER 2, 2026
OPEN CIRCUIT | The prepping vibes online are very high right now. Spend any time on X, and you’ll get inundated with warnings about AI hacking, possible grid collapse, and stockpile checklists.
There’s a reason people are anxious. Security experts are sounding the alarm about AI agent swarms that are targeting infrastructure. Governments around the world are telling people to prepare for at least 72 hours of disruption. And the Pentagon recently unveiled a plan to operate bases for 90 days in the event of widespread blackouts.
So, how worried should we be about threats to the power grid?
This week, Jonathon Monken, a senior partner at Converge Strategies, joins the Open Circuit podcast to assess the state of grid security. Jonathon is a 24-year Army veteran, the former senior director of system resilience at PJM, and a former director of the Illinois emergency management agency. He says the risk is real and significantly elevated. We talk with him about where the grid is most exposed, why data centers are becoming an attractive target, and why the military’s 90-day blackout plan is very difficult to execute.
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