MIT investigation: billions spent on AI border surveillance towers, yet hundreds died in their view
nordicinst · x · 2026-09-22
MIT Technology Review hosted a subscriber-only roundtable on its investigation into the virtual border wall: over 25 years the US has spent billions on surveillance towers along its southern border, promising to detect border crossers and save lives. The investigation documented hundreds of people who passed through tower-covered areas without being reached or apprehended and ultimately died — some under newly installed AI-powered towers designed to spot people automatically.
The findings reveal a humanitarian crisis larger than previously known and repeated failures of the wall's basic security promise. Speakers include editor in chief Mat Honan, senior AI reporter James O'Donnell, and investigations reporter Eileen Guo; the poster urges Sweden/EU to ask hard questions about surveillance ethics.
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