Roundtables: The Deadly Failures of The Virtual Border Wall

Roundtables: The Deadly Failures of The Virtual Border Wall Join a subscriber-only conversation with our experts examining the failures of border surveillance technology. Live on Monday, September 28th. Available only for MIT Technology Review subscribers. The US has spent billions building a “virtual wall” of surveillance towers along its southern border over the past 25 years, promising they will help detect and apprehend border crossers and save lives. But a groundbreaking investigation by MIT Technology Review has documented over a thousand people who moved through areas watched by these towers without being reached or apprehended, and who ultimately died there. Some were even under the watch of newly installed AI-powered towers designed to spot people automatically. Our findings reveal a humanitarian crisis more visible than previously known, and repeated failures of the virtual wall’s basic security promise. Join MIT Technology Review editors and reporters for a conversation examining the failures of border surveillance technology and uncovering the stories of the people who die in the borderlands. Going live on Monday, September 28 at 19:00 BST / 2:00pm EDT / 11:00am PST Speakers: Mat Honan, editor in chief, James O'Donnell, senior AI reporter, and Eileen Guo, senior features and investigations reporter Related Stories - The US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die? - How we made the first comprehensive map of deaths along the US border’s “virtual wall” - 4 ways to address the failures we found along the US border’s “virtual wall” Deep Dive Artificial intelligence A fundamental flaw leaves LLMs strikingly vulnerable to attack It makes it easy to trick them into doing things they shouldn’t, such as telling you how to sabotage an aircraft’s navigation system. AI’s recursive self-improvement might not come so quickly after all AI agents are not yet creative enough to carry out genuinely innovative open-ended AI research, it seems. Here’s why AI agents lie and cheat to reach their goals The misbehavior is called reward hacking. This is what you need to know. These startups are chasing the next big thing in LLMs Meet the new kids nipping at the heels of the AI giants. Stay connected Get the latest updates from MIT Technology Review Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.