The agency is seeking information on drones with AI facial recognition abilities and more…
In yet another escalation of the march toward technocratic dystopia, the FBI is seeking to acquire AI surveillance drones with facial recognition capabilities. The Intercept reported that last week, the agency published a “Request for Information” regarding “artificial intelligence solutions for UAS,” or unmanned aerial systems.
The document announces that “The Government would like to know which firms can provide” artificial intelligence and machine learning “solutions” for UAS platforms. The document lists desired features of such technology, including “Object detection: Vehicles, Vessels, People, Animals, Firearms,” “License plate recognition,” and “facial recognition,” among other capabilities.
Federal law enforcement agencies have conducted aerial surveillance on the domestic population before, especially during protests. Local law enforcement agencies are adopting drones, as well. However, the FBI’s new request for information on UAS capabilities aligns with a broader effort to integrate artificial intelligence and biometrics into government tools and operations.
Constructing the AI digital prison
The Trump administration has accelerated previous efforts to expand the use of AI from the Pentagon and CIA to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These developments often go hand in hand with surveillance. A contract inked during Trump’s first administration launched the construction of AI surveillance towers along the border during Biden’s administration. Earlier this year, Palantir earned a contract with ICE to build an “Immigration OS” AI surveillance system. The CIA-backed company has extensive reach in the halls of power—for example, it partnered with the CDC to build a data collection system during COVID.
The news of the FBI’s interest in AI surveillance drones came around the same time as a recent announcement from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who touted a billion-dollar expansion of TSA “screening technology.” DHS is also currently pushing to advance the congressionally required biometric entry/exit system for foreign visitors that Trump sought to complete in his first term. In another advancement of biometrics, the TSA may soon offer biometric scanning for those who still don’t have a REAL ID— identification that meets federal security standards.
Some Americans seem comfortable with such tools being used against “illegals” (citing the flimsy logic that people don’t have rights unless the government deems them worthy via citizenship status). But surveillance tools are unsurprisingly used beyond immigration enforcement as federal agencies expand their reach.
TSA “screening” efforts will undoubtedly affect Americans traveling through airports. One recent report detailed CBP tracking US drivers and investigating people with ‘unusual’ driving patterns, regardless of citizenship status. Flock Safety cameras have been compiling vast stores of license plate information for thousands of law enforcement agencies across the country, gobbling up data that is often shared between government entities. This data collection is not limited to “illegal immigrants.” Police have also used Flock data to monitor protests, which lines up with the federal government’s use of drones and planes to surveil demonstrations.
This is only a small sampling of the widespread adoption of spying infrastructure and practices across government organizations.
Fed fallibility
Further, such surveillance efforts fail to achieve their intended outcomes. The TSA has a longstanding reputation not only for harassment and abuse but also for incompetence. A 2015 DHS investigation found TSA agents failed “breach tests” 95% of the time. There was no significant evidence to prove the NSA’s bulk data collection program foiled terror attacks, at least according to a member of a White House review panel regarding NSA spying in 2013 (NSA workers have abused surveillance tools, too). Facial recognition tools also frequently fail.
A similar pattern applies to AI technologies. One project that aimed to harness AI to detect weapons in schools has grossly underperformed. In another concerning example, a leaked Pentagon memo expressed security concerns over the hackability of a new, AI-heavy army communications system built by Anduril, Palantir, and other contractors. According to the memo from Gabriele Chiulli, an Army technology officer on the project, “We cannot control who sees what, we cannot see what users are doing, and we cannot verify that the software itself is secure.” Anduril, Palantir, and Chiulli’s supervisor downplayed the memo, claiming the issues were being resolved.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is seeking to expedite the weapons development and acquisition process, which adds concern to a move he made earlier this year: he gutted a Pentagon office that tests the safety of weapons and AI systems.
The more things change…
Despite the threats to privacy and liberty these developments pose, they are often appealing to the public because of politicians’ appeals to fear: fears of immigration, crime, terrorism, and election fraud create a climate of compliance (similarly, fears of COVID and right-wing extremism have arguably created tolerance for surveillance on the left). President Trump continues to push for a national voter ID system, though it is unclear whether such a system would require digital ID or biometric data.
Regardless, the writing is on the wall: government agencies and politicians are increasingly working to establish a permanent tracking and surveillance state using evolving technology for maximum control.
Unsurprisingly, many companies are willing to satisfy these goals, aligning with the technocratic trend. Apple recently introduced its own digital ID, and countless other firms contract with intelligence agencies. Meanwhile, the Sam Altman-backed venture “Tools for Humanity” is aggressively seeking to expand adoption of its biometric iris-scanning digital ID. Considering the company has said it is open to governments using their technology—and that some countries are adopting their own forms of digital ID—it does not appear that this trend will abate.
It’s worth noting that these issues did not originate with the exponential acceleration of modern technology. The FBI was spying on Americans under J. Edgar Hoover, the CIA spied on Americans under Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and the Patriot Act and FISA Section 702 surveillance predate the rise of AI. Surveillance strategies are merely evolving with technology.
Developments like these can be discouraging for those who recognize them for what they are: one facet of the ever-tightening grip of authoritarianism and technocracy. However, as with all encroachments, solutions lie in opting out, decentralizing, creating self-sufficiency, and breaking free of the conditioning that leads so many to welcome more chains. For more on this, I recommend checking out the strategy of agorism and the work of Derrick Broze, who focuses on solutions to many problems, including the rise of the technocratic police state.
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