The US Customs and Border Protection is seeking to add "100 more high-tech drug detection machines" in its operations as the US tightens border policies against immigrants.
Among the cited "high-tech" machines are X-ray and AI tools that will detect fentanyl and other illegal drugs passing through the country's southern border.
The new Non-Intrusive Inspection X-Rays will supposedly scan cars and tracks for drugs by just going through its "massive U-shaped screeners," NBC News reported.
AI will reportedly be used to help officers process passing vehicles much faster.
US President Joe Biden claimed that the government already has the needed scanners and detectors but remains uninstalled as Congress has yet to allocate a budget to accomplish the task.
The CBP is requesting at least $300 million to reach its 100% fentanyl detection system goal.
Biden later reiterated the endorsed a bipartisan immigration bill to achieve the deployment of the AI-powered scanners, promising to roll out the US' "toughest set of border security reforms we've ever seen."
Biases, Prejudice in AI Systems Remain a Concern
While the CBP and the Department of Homeland Security have been touting AI as a means to boost its operations at the border, the agencies have yet to address concerns about its applications.
In its press statement last January, the border patrol intends to use AI in tasks related to surveillance and "situational awareness."
The technology has already been reported in the past of falling into stereotyping and biases prevalent online, particularly technologies that rely on prediction and assessment.
Homeland Security has already started hiring AI experts to impose safety measures on the technology but has yet to provide a concrete solution as to
This is necessary as more migrants are being reported to have been killed in the US-Mexico border.
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US Tightens Border Patrol Amid 'Migrant Crisis'
Citing the so-called "migrant crisis" in its southern borders, the US government has been rolling out stricter border policies to supposedly curb the increasing number of illegal trafficking in the country.
It is worth noting, however, that most of the smuggled fentanyl came from US citizens and not migrants.
