I expect we’ll see a lot more of these unintended synchronisations having measurable downstream effects. The issue will be that non-human agents will synchronise on something that, unlike clock time, seems utterly alien to regular humans, especially if the sync happens in a domain with no real native algorithmic monoculture.
As there are no binding standards for such power checks, Witthaut suspects that most battery manufacturers assumed that a 60-second interval would be sensible. The start of every minute was simply chosen as the test time. “It is entirely possible, however, that battery storage systems are only part of the problem here,” says Witthaut. “It cannot be ruled out that other digitally controlled appliances – such as air-conditioning systems, heat pumps, washing machines, and dishwashers – may also exhibit similar patterns.”