AI Surveillance Leak: DHS Spends $845M on Tech

0:00On March 15, League Data from the Department of Homeland Security's Tech Incubator reveals heavy spending on artificial intelligence tools to boost. Surveillance The Office of Industry Partnership has funded over 1,400 contracts worth $845 million since 2004. These include projects for automated airport monitoring, phone-based biometric scanners, and systems that analyze nationwide 911 calls to. Recent awards on May 7, 2025 highlight the push. Companies got funding for adapters that led agents use smartphones for fingerprints and iris scans, with some promising use beyond federal agencies. For other deals, targeted airport security cameras, using AI to track passengers clothing, accessories, and movements for real-time alerts. Privacy experts worry this echoes failed, past efforts, like the Transportation Security Administration's costly behavior screening programs that wasted millions and faced

1:01racial profiling claims. Critics say these AI tools risk bias, waste money, and target innocent people, drawing parallels to dystopian scenarios without learning the right. Lessons The hack exposed bids for more than 6,000 companies, showing wide private interest in Homeland Security Tech, even if not all one funding. It matches some public records, but uncovers the full picture of what the Department explored. This leak comes amid the agency's huge funding increase, raising fresh questions about balancing security and civil liberties as these projects move.