Datacenters tax utilities normally, so just imagine what they could do if workloads were designed to destroy
Reminds me of the August 2025 paper:
“Power Stabilization for AI Training Datacenters”
(Link to the PDF https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.14318)
(Link to a HTML page https://arxiv.org/html/2508.14318v1)The paper describes how coordinated AI loads can hammer on and destroy power infrastructure.
If your datacenter can’t run at full capacity, you are overstating your capacity.
The problem isn’t peak load at the data center. The problem the paper is discussing is the rapid cycling between minimum and maximum load, and the effects of that cycling on the grid.
Basically, when a large load is suddenly applied to the grid, it immediately drops grid voltage, and slows grid frequency. The grid responds by bringing additional generation online, which raises grid voltage, and accelerates grid frequency. But this takes time. So, what a malicious actor could do is spike a load, and at the exact time the grid is able to react, the malicious actor shuts off that load. Instead of raising a low grid voltage and low grid frequency to normal, it raises a normal voltage and normal frequency abnormally high. The grid reacts by shutting the excess generation down. And the malicious actor suddenly adds their load back on to the grid, dropping it even lower.
With a large enough load and the right timing, they can conceivably drive the grid out of tolerance, and potentially cause damage or trip equipment offline.
