🚀 FP! Week In Review, Briefly #12
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Stuxnet
13 min read
The article discusses autonomous cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. Stuxnet is the seminal example of a sophisticated cyber weapon that targeted industrial systems, providing essential historical context for understanding state-sponsored cyber warfare and the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure.
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Electromagnetic pulse
13 min read
The article mentions EMP weapons as a potential countermeasure against rogue AI. Understanding what EMPs are, how they work, and their potential effects on electronic infrastructure provides valuable technical context for readers considering defensive options against autonomous AI threats.
In case you missed it ...
✨ Are we ready for a rogue AI attack? We should be (Tuesday)
đź—˝ I love progress, which is why I love liberal democracy (Thursday)
✨ The Age of AI is starting to bloom (Friday)
✨ Are we ready for a rogue AI attack? We should be (Nov. 11, 2025)
Red Alert: A new RAND wargame imagines a near-future cyber onslaught that cripples US infrastructure and kills dozens, but with no obvious culprit. The scenario echoes the “fog of war” depicted in recent nuclear thrillers, where leaders must act amid glitches, outages, and incomplete information.
Uncharted Territory: When national security officials can’t attribute an attack, their entire playbook breaks. In RAND’s exercise, suspected perpetrators ranged from China to terrorists to a rogue AI — each implying a radically different response.
The Twist: A week in, intelligence agencies conclude the attacker is autonomous, self-replicating AI software infiltrating global systems. With no adversary to threaten or negotiate with, participants shift from retaliation to containment and coordination, even with rivals.
The Takeaway: US defenses look brittle. Officials struggled to envision shutting down compromised networks, maintaining essential services, or communicating securely. No clear plans exist for rapid AI forensics, private-sector coordination, or backup comms:
The danger is not just the machines themselves, of course, but the human confusion they would trigger when the screen goes dark and leaders discover they no longer know who — or what — they are fighting.
Up Wing Upshot: RAND’s stress test reveals how unprepared institutions are for crises where machines act autonomously. Governments urgently need a strong playbook — and maybe access to an EMP weapon — before such a scenario moves from hypothetical to real.
This excerpt is provided for preview purposes. Full article content is available on the original publication.