The Ethics of AI:
Lessons from Battery Revolution

By Jeff Pierson

When we think about the ethics of artificial intelligence, we often refer to data privacy, algorithmic bias, or the future of work. But what about the physical infrastructure powering modern society? As explored in Battery Revolution, the expansion of AI into our critical infrastructure raises profound ethical questions receiving too little attention.

The US power grid—a century-old marvel of engineering connecting thousands of electric generators across the country—functions like a semi-autonomous system. Every power source from Maine to Southern California operates in perfect synchrony without any centralized control. The only governor is the physics of alternating current. As wondrous as it is, this self-organizing electric power system leaves our grid uniquely vulnerable not just to cyberattacks, but also to the rise of artificial super intelligence behavior.

Who decides how we generate, store, and deliver electricity? 

When AI systems increasingly start to manage our grid infrastructure, they will be programmed to protect human values and priorities. But who decides those priorities? Should the grid deliver the lowest cost power to homes, offices, and factories? Or maintain highest reliability? Or minimize environmental impact? Seemingly technical questions for grid operators become value judgments for our society and economy. In Battery Revolution, the “quantum energy storage” networks may have the ability to decide autonomously—but are their choices democratic?

Who has responsibility? 

If an AI-managed grid prioritized power to hospitals over residential neighborhoods during an emergency, who bears responsibility for that choice? The AI algorithm’s developers? Power utility operators? Government regulators? When systems operate beyond our human understanding, our frameworks for responsibility become increasingly strained.

Who maintains security? 

Infrastructure AI presents unique and serious security challenges, well beyond cybersecurity. Grid AI can control physical systems, with widespread consequences for human safety and welfare.

What ethical frameworks do you believe should guide the development of infrastructure AI? What values should we prioritize as these intelligent systems advance? Share your thoughts by writing us.