Currently, «high-tech machines» (which are essentially very powerful X-rays) for detecting drugs are being installed at the borders, and their work should be accelerated by artificial intelligence in the future.
Last week, Joe Biden called for support for the Border Security Bill, which, among other things, provides for the purchase of 100 units of such equipment. Two days before the president’s speech NBC News reported that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) already has modern machines to detect fentanyl
Synthetic opioid analgesic, a potent μ-opioid receptor agonist (20-40 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine). — but they have not been installed because Congress has not yet allocated funds for this.
As noted by The Verge, the vast majority of fentanyl seized by customs and border guards (over 90%) is smuggled through official border crossings by U.S. citizens, not migrants crossing the border illegally.
According to a press release from the Department of Homeland Security, CBP confiscated about 20 tons of fentanyl during 2023. More than half of them passed through a single point — the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona (interestingly, there are already several X-ray machines there — and several more are stored in warehouses due to lack of funds for installation).
Currently, CBP scans about 20% of commercial vehicles and less than 5% of personal vehicles. In the future, they want to increase these figures to 70 and 40%, respectively — and artificial intelligence should help.
After scanning, the X-rays are sent to the command center, where they are checked for compliance with the documents (if it says that the truck is transporting bananas — then the scan should show this).
«One officer looking at one image» — says Kevin McAleenan, who served as CBP Commissioner under Trump from 2018 to 2019. «If you’re going to dramatically increase the number of inspections, you’re not only going to need a lot more scanners, but you’re going to need a lot more officers to read them, or you’re going to need technology to help you do it».
In 2020, McAleenan co-founded Pangiam, an AI technology company for trade and travel. Last year, they were awarded a $16.86 million contract to develop «Anomaly Detection Algorithms», which will use artificial intelligence to analyze X-ray images scanned at the border.
«Based on the way the cross-border supply chain works, many trucks actually return to the U.S. empty,» McAleenan said. «The software can confirm that the truck and scan are empty — the officer doesn’t have to spend valuable time reviewing the image».
The tool, which is not yet in use at the border, is trained based on previous CBP X-ray scans.