The Growing Use of Artificial Intelligence in Border Zones...
govciooutlook

The Growing Use of Artificial Intelligence in Border Zones Regarding Privacy

Government CIO Outlook | Monday, February 06, 2023

Artificial intelligence promises to streamline operations in sectors such as healthcare, human resources, and commerce through the collection of vast amounts of data, which enables humans to evaluate risks better, improve predictions, and perform operations much more quickly.

FREMONT, CA: The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) promises to streamline operations in industries such as health care, human resources, and commerce by accumulating massive amounts of data to better analyze risks, enhance predictions, and perform functions much more quickly than people could. The same holds for border management, where governments and proponents of the technology point to the potential for AI to assist in securing international crossings more efficiently and, in some circumstances, more securely. In recent years, authorities, especially in the United States, have moved swiftly to integrate "smart border" AI capabilities into their operations, signaling a potentially game-changing moment for governments' ability to monitor borders.

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Multiple border-focused AI technologies exist, including algorithms designed to evaluate travelers' nuanced and nearly imperceptible emotional expressions, biometric analysis of fingerprints and facial recognition, and scanner software that can distinguish humans from wildlife in remote border areas. Numerous systems are derived from surveillance techniques that have existed in some form for decades but have grown increasingly automated so that computers, not humans, make preliminary assessments regarding potential dangers and how authorities should respond. AI will enhance this monitoring, making technologies more potent and capable of processing and understanding more data than in the past. Yet, the rapid deployment of these technologies, which has frequently outpaced legislative and other regulatory frameworks governing their use, has raised concerns about privacy and the expanding government surveillance of not only migrants and travelers but also, on a broader scale, entire populations.

AI at U.S. Borders: An Emerging Digital Wall

Along its northern and southern borders, the U.S. government has committed large sums of money to technical surveillance advancements, including AI. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) got more than $780 million in fiscal year (FY) 2021 for border technology and surveillance, according to an analysis by the advocacy groups Just Futures Law and Mijente. Homeland security advocates have long advocated for a "virtual wall" consisting of an ocean-to-ocean network of drones, sensors, and other technologies capable of detecting unlawful border crossers. Proponents argue that such a system would benefit distant and unmonitored land areas between ports of entry. The premise that the concept would be more effective, less expensive, and less disruptive than physical barriers has garnered bipartisan support and momentum under presidents of both parties.

With its vision for a Secure Border Initiative Network (SBInet) that would integrate manpower, technology, and infrastructure to secure the border, the George W. Bush administration started an early and generally ineffective automated monitoring program along the U.S.-Mexico border. When the controversial SBInet project was terminated in 2011, approximately $1 billion had been spent. However, with the evolution of technology, efforts have been redoubled in recent years. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has established a system of 200 autonomous surveillance towers by the end of the fiscal year 2022. These towers utilize radar, cameras, and algorithms to monitor remote border areas and identify the source of activity. The solar-powered, 33-foot towers can interact with one another to track objects that move out of range and can be readily relocated as needed. The data from these towers and other sources, like cameras, drones, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) laser systems, and infrared sensors, are fed into the Lattice system, which enables real-time interpretation. The AI system has been trained to distinguish between a tumbleweed, an automobile, and a person based on the object's movement while ignoring animals and other false positives. When the system identifies human or vehicular movement, it alerts Border Patrol agents for further investigation.

Additionally, CBP has utilized AI technologies at the U.S.-Canada border. For example, the agency has promoted the Northern Border Remote Video Surveillance System (NBRVSS), a network of 22 stations with high-resolution cameras and radar devices equipped with AI capabilities. CBP described the technology as having the ability to detect and track vessels departing the Canadian coastline from kilometers away and to provide a warning when a vessel enters particular areas by being able to distinguish "unusual vessel movements from typical traffic." If a suspect vessel is detected, a camera can show its appearance, the number of people on board, and its registration number for background checks.

Supporters assert that the NBRVSS system enables agents to function substantially more, compensating for potential personnel shortages and enhancing agent safety. This would be noteworthy because border security guards quit at twice the rate of other law enforcement professions, frequently blaming low morale and dire working circumstances. Allowing fewer agents to perform more duties would better prepare the agency for a shifting workforce.

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