AI Could Soon Help Feds Scan 100 Percent Of Vehicles Crossing The Southern Border

Customs and Border Protectionofficers currently face a nearly impossible task: stopping the constant flow of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S. via the southern border. CBP seized 43,000 pounds of the stuff last year, half of which came from just one border crossing — Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona. To help them snag even more of this killer drug, the U.S. is installing high-tech super strong X-ray machines, and even eyeing the possibility of using AI to review the images they generate.

President Biden noted in his state of the union that a bipartisan border bill waylaid by House Republicans would pay for “...100 more high-tech drug detection machines” at the border. These machines don’t actually detect the drugs themselves; rather, they are strong X-ray machines generating images that must be reviewed by CBP officers. They’re looking for deviations from trucker’s stated haul, or secret compartments in personal cars.

Officers are aiming to scan 100 percent of vehicles that comes through ports and border crossings, but that’s obviously a huge undertaking, one that is significantly slowed by bureaucracy and human frailty. Right now, only 20 percent of trucks are scanned, and only five percent of personal vehicles. So the feds are looking to AI to help scan cars before drivers reach a CBP officer, according to the Verge: