UNITED STATES
2026

How close is America
to a unified control grid?

An interpretive dashboard tracking the integration of surveillance, identity, mobility control, data systems, and automated governance.

OVERALL CONTROL GRID INDEX
62.2
out of 100
+16.7 since 2015
Historical Benchmarks
1955 Minimal infrastructure • Paper-based systems
1985 Early digitalization • Analog surveillance
2026 Accelerating integration
Control Grid Index Over Time
Category Progress — Higher = greater progress toward unified control
Acceleration Phase
The steepest rise in every category has occurred since 2015, coinciding with smartphone ubiquity, cloud computing, and AI capability breakthroughs.
Most Advanced Domains
Data acquisition and visual surveillance currently show the highest integration levels. Digital identity and predictive AI still have significant runway.
Projected 2046
Under current trajectories, the composite index reaches the low-to-mid 90s. Full unification would require policy choices that close remaining gaps in identity and AI governance.

Why this matters

Unless strict safety measures are implemented, there will be no way to stop power consolidation to a single group or person once a fully-automated control grid is in place.

An extreme minority can then implement arbitrary and punitive controls and rules that apply to all without debate, consent, or constitutional protections.

The recent consolidation trend of control systems is cause for concern. Action is needed to correct these trends before permanent damage is done to individual liberty.