signalMIT Technology Review AI2026-09-22
The US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?
A 2024 MIT Technology Review and Times of San Diego investigation found that border surveillance technology fails to prevent deaths: José Morales Bernal died of environmental exposure on April 8, 2024, just 360 feet from an Anduril AI-powered surveillance tower in Sunland Park, New Mexico, despite the system's automatic detection and agent alerts. Cross-referencing nearly 4,000 human-remains locations with ~600 towers, the report reveals deaths have occurred in view of the government's "virtual wall" - a 25-year, multi-billion-dollar system of towers, drones, blimps, and sensors - which failed to alert agents to Morales before landfill workers found his body.
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- AI Industry Impact
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- MIT Technology Review AI
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