MIT Technology Review examines deaths near the virtual border wall

The US has spent billions over the past 25 years building a “virtual wall” of surveillance towers along its southern border, with officials promising the technology would help detect and apprehend border crossers and save lives. MIT Technology Review documented over a thousand people who traveled through areas monitored by these towers without being reached or apprehended, and who later died there.

The investigation found failures in the virtual wall’s basic security promise, including cases involving newly installed AI-powered towers designed to spot people automatically. A recorded session on September 28, 2026 features Mat Honan, James O’Donnell, and Eileen Guo discussing the findings, the humanitarian crisis in the borderlands, and the stories of people who died in surveilled areas.