Many key items have become talking points among presidential candidates ahead of the 2024 election.
One of them has been immigration, which has been an issue in past elections and it has been proposed that it could be better solved with use of artificial intelligence.
What Happened: The 2023 year witnessed a surge in use cases for artificial intelligence and the technology could be used to help better secure borders for the U.S.
In the 2016 election, Republican candidate Donald Trump campaigned with a promise to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico to control immigration.
While the physical wall was never completed, the country could be utilizing artificial intelligence to build a virtual wall, of sorts.
As the country fights off drug smuggling and people illegally entering from Mexico, new surveillance towers that use artificial intelligence are being put in place, according to Axios.
The news comes as staffing shortages at U.S. Customs and Border Protection and a record number of people have entered the U.S. through Mexico in 2023.
As Axios reported, there have been surveillance towers used at the border for years and using artificial intelligence helped to better detect activity.
Citing a report from the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, Axios said 300 different types of surveillance towers have been installed for the U.S. border from California to Texas.
The towers use 360-degree radars and sensors and have been praised by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The radars and sensors can better detect what a person and animal is with the use of AI.
If a person or people are detected, the Border Patrol can then send agents to the area.
The report said the surveillance towers are solar-powered and can be built in hours. They are housed on public, private and tribal land.
Among the companies helping in the efforts is Elbit Systems of America, which is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd ESLT.
Why It's Important: Immigration is expected to be a key topic of discussion among presidential candidates, especially Republicans.
GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy previously said he wants to use military force to help enforce immigration laws.
"You can't be American if your first act of entering the country is a lawbreaking one," Ramaswamy said. "I will use our military to secure the border without apology & restore the rule of law in America. We're going to finally solve this."
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis also criticized Trump for not completing his promised border wall.
"We will finally after years and years of discussions and Republicans complaining about it, we will finally be the administration to bring this border issue to a conclusion," DeSantis said.
DeSantis went on to say, "We are going to shut the border down, we are going to build the border wall."
With border security and immigration keys in the minds of voters and presidential candidates, the increased usage of artificial intelligence to help could go a long way to provide a temporary or lasting solution to the problem.
Read Next: Biden Accuses GOP Of Undermining Immigration System: ‘Spent Four Years Gutting The System’
Photo: Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
