---
format: "aidr-story-markdown/v1"
id: "8964eed3da707780138692f9db00f83039f0de243ac2305e5d7c5ef582f43969"
canonical_url: "https://aidr.today/8964eed3?lang=en"
title: "The US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?"
lang: "en"
requested_lang: "en"
available_langs: ["en","vi"]
translation_fallback: null
fallback_fields: []
published_at: "2026-09-21T12:00:00.000Z"
category: "Research"
topics: ["mit-tr-ai","border-surveillance","safety","ethics","surveillance","investigation"]
source_urls: ["https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1144166/border-towers-surveillance-investigation/"]
summary: "Surveillance towers, increasingly powered by AI, promised faster responses to crossings. Our investigation of deaths near the towers found they are failing to deliver."
---

# The US spent billions on border surveillance\. Why can’t it catch people before they die?

> [Open the canonical story](<https://aidr.today/8964eed3?lang=en>)

**Published:** 2026-09-21T12:00:00.000Z
**Category:** Research
**Topics:** mit\-tr\-ai, border\-surveillance, safety, ethics, surveillance, investigation

## Summary

Surveillance towers, increasingly powered by AI, promised faster responses to crossings\. Our investigation of deaths near the towers found they are failing to deliver\.

## Sources

- [Story source](<https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1144166/border-towers-surveillance-investigation/>)