Federal contractors have begun installing a new generation of autonomous surveillance towers with artificial intelligence along the U.S.-Mexico border, raising privacy concerns. The towers, which use technology from Phoenix-based PureTech Systems, are designed to identify and track smugglers without human oversight. However, digital privacy advocate Dave Maass, director of investigations for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has stated that there are already hundreds of other surveillance towers along the border with a questionable track record. He warned that the towers collect data on people who live at the border rather than people crossing it. Maass also noted that there is effective technique for tracking border crossers, which only requires ATVs and costs up to $1.5 million per tower.