AI Can Help Address Power Outages According to Hassan Taher

A renowned authority on artificial intelligence (AI) who lives in Los Angles, California, Hassan Taher was born in Beaumont, Texas, to an engineer father and a schoolteacher mother who both stressed the tremendous importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. After high school, he studied computer science at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, Texas, where he was a dedicated member of the Artificial Intelligence Club.

While many people today quote dystopian science fiction to criticize humanity’s increasing reliance on AI tech, Taher (a childhood fan of classic sci-fi writers such as Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov) has long envisioned a fantastic future in which AI faithfully serves humanity in amazing ways. When asked to reveal something that almost nobody agrees with him about, he answers, “I believe that AI technology has the potential to bring about significant positive change in the world, but many people are hesitant to embrace it fully. While some may disagree, I believe that with responsible use, AI can actually make the world a better place for everyone.” 

Driven to make this vision a reality, Hassan Taher established the well-regarded technology consulting firm Taher AI Solutions after graduating from UNT. He also began to establish himself as an accomplished author who tackles a wide variety of subjects that relate to AI and both the hazards and the promise of its many applications. Most notably, he has published three books on AI topics: The Rise of Intelligent Machines, AI and Ethics: Navigating the Moral Maze, and The Future of Work in an AI-Powered World.

Over the years, Taher has risen to prominence as an AI consultant and thought leader in areas that range from finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Most recently, he turned his attention to the ways in which AI can be used to address ongoing and worsening power grid outages around the world.

No matter where they are located, power grids face serious challenges that range from skyrocketing energy demand to extreme weather events to deliberate attacks by criminal hackers. For these reasons and more, many of these grids are plagued by blackouts (complete loss of power) and brownouts (significant reduction in available voltage) on a regular basis. Of course, every power grid should be continually updated with the latest technology to promote optimum security, anticipate likely problems, and manage disruption effectively.

Taking a broad view of the problems that humanity faces today, Hassan Taher recognizes reliable electric energy as a fundamental component of any healthy and prosperous modern society. “Power outages, whether brief or prolonged, can disrupt daily life, affect economic activities, and even jeopardize safety,” he writes. “As we increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to enhance various facets of our lives, the energy sector stands out as a prime candidate for AI integration.”

In his full-throated praise of AI’s capabilities to prevent power outages, Taher joins a chorus of tech professionals that come from every corner of the globe. For example, a University at Buffalo (UB) research team recently developed AI to make power grids “self-healing.” This AI promises to sidestep power outages by automatically rerouting electricity as needed within milliseconds. “Power grids across the world are being challenged by the growing number of extreme weather events, the likelihood of cyberattacks, and projected increases in demand,” says associate mechanical and aerospace engineering professor and co-corresponding author of the UB project Souma Chowdhury. “Therefore, it is imperative that we develop tools that modernize the system and make it more resilient against future power outages.”

In his April 2024 feature “How AI Is Helping to Prevent Future Power Cuts,” BBC technology reporter Joe Whitwell examines a number of other state-of-the-art AI projects with the potential to change power outage mitigation as we know it. The companies WattTime and Buzz Solutions provide prime examples. WattTime develops AI software that predicts the fluctuating supply and demand of electricity within a specific region to precisely time energy generation with the charging of batteries, and Buzz Solutions develops AI software that scans visual images of electricity cables, substations, and pylons to identify areas of troubling damage and deterioration.

Seeing the vast promise of AI in the energy sector, Hassan Taher touts its unprecedented ability to anticipate and control power outages and generally maximize the resilience and efficiency of today’s power grids. He identifies predictive maintenance, real-time monitoring, and dynamic response strategies as the three primary growth areas to watch in the world of AI-driven power grid management.

Perhaps the most rapidly evolving area of power grid AI development, predictive maintenance provides accurate glimpses into the future to help stop problems before they start. “Traditional maintenance schedules often rely on periodic checks, which might miss critical issues developing between inspections,” writes Hassan Taher. “AI, through machine learning algorithms, can analyze vast amounts of data from various sensors installed on power infrastructure to predict potential failures before they occur. For instance, minor anomalies in voltage or temperature can be early indicators of equipment malfunctions. By identifying these anomalies, AI can prompt preemptive maintenance, thus averting potential outages.”

Beyond using forecasting models to anticipate likely events, Taher stresses the importance of remaining contently vigilant and reacting to problems immediately through AI-driven real-time monitoring and dynamic response. “Traditional power grids often lack the agility to respond promptly to sudden disruptions,” he writes. “However, AI-driven smart grids can continuously monitor the health of the power system and react instantaneously to anomalies. For example, if a sudden spike in power demand occurs, AI can automatically reroute electricity from less critical areas to stabilize the grid, thereby preventing an outage.”

The future of AI in the energy sector might be bright, but the technology doesn’t come without its unique set of drawbacks. For example, Hassan Taher integrating AI into existing power grid systems can be quite difficult. He also wisely points out that risks of cyberattack become significantly higher as power grids around the world begin to rely more heavily on AI for their daily operations.

Despite the many obstacles that stand in its way, AI will certainly continue to play a prominent role in countless essential industries and markets. With so many promising applications for AI on the horizon, the energy sector is distinctively positioned to make the very most of tomorrow’s technology today. “As we continue to harness the power of AI, the vision of a resilient, efficient, and sustainable power grid becomes increasingly attainable,” Hassan Taher writes. “The journey toward this future requires collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to overcoming the challenges that lie ahead.”

Related: How Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing Cyber Security