Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026)

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026)

@eileenguo.bsky.social

Tech features and investigations at @technologyreview.com | proud Los Angeles resident | send me tips (not PR pitches) on Signal: eileenguo.15 | português-español-中文 https://www.technologyreview.com/author/eileen-guo/

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Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

After years of championing "free speech," Texas lawmakers have enabled a dramatic rise of censorship in Texas universities, banning concepts, canceling courses and closing departments seen as "woke," and even using AI bots as censors. All in the name of freedom. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Many supposed news organizations are launching weird AI and tech products that fundamentally break the rules of journalism. Any interview is an individual conversation with its own terms between a source and reporter.

Nicole Bedera@nbedera.bsky.social

Earlier this week, I agreed to interviews with two USA Today journalists. They wrote fantastic articles about the Cornell case that I'm proud to have been a part of. What I did not know is that their employer considers interviews to proprietary and opens up recordings to be used by any journalist.

Excited to be sharing @technologyreview.com’s investigation, Dying on Camera, live on MS NOW shortly. Tune in to our interview… and then check out our full package here: www.technologyreview.com/supertopic/b...

technologyreview.comDying on CameraAN MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW INVESTIGATION Dying on Camera The US has spent billions building a “virtual wall” of surveillance towers along its southern border over the past 25 years, promising they will ...
Connect with Jacob Soboroff@connectwithjacob.bsky.social

Please join me on MS NOW 10a-1p w/ @repcasar.bsky.social // @gregcasar.bsky.social Randy Korgan @eileenguo.bsky.social @jamesodonnell.bsky.social @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov @nhannahjones.bsky.social @hamilton4kansas.bsky.social Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch Dr. Reza Aslan Mala Muñoz

🧵 on our investigation into deaths by border towers

James O'Donnell@jamesmodonnell.bsky.social

The tower on the hill is an Anduril surveillance tower, one of hundreds that watch the US-Mexico border. The view at right is from where a 31-year-old man lay for hours after crossing the border and then died, neither apprehended nor rescued. 1x

Days after we published our story on deaths by border towers, Rep Delia Ramirez announced a plan to terminate CBP's surveillance tower program—and dismantle DHS. Citing our reporting, she said: "The towers that we have paid a billion $ to just don’t work.” www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/23/1...

technologyreview.comA congressional representative just proposed killing America’s border tower programThe proposed bill comes days after an MIT Technology Review investigation revealed that over 1,050 people have died within the advertised range of surveillance towers.

New investigation from @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social & me into the border #SurveillanceTech by #Anduril, General Dynamics, and Israeli co. Elbit Systems that failed to catch 1 in 4 deaths within range. In other words: 1,050+ people dying on camera. www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1... 1/x

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

This fascinating, grim and utterly necessary story from my old chums at Tech Review: zillions spent on high-tech US border surveillance and yet thousands of people still dying within a stone’s throw of towers. A horrible reminder of how the promises of a technology often fail.

New investigation from @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social & me into the border #SurveillanceTech by #Anduril, General Dynamics, and Israeli co. Elbit Systems that failed to catch 1 in 4 deaths within range. In other words: 1,050+ people dying on camera. www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1... 1/x

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Thank you @austinkocher.com for the close read and summary 🧵

Austin Kocher, PhD@austinkocher.com

An investigation mapped nearly 4,000 sites where migrant remains were found against roughly 600 US border towers. More than 1,050 people died within a tower's range since 2015. 🧵 www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1...

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

If surveillance at the US-Mexico border is so all-seeing, why isn't it saving lives? @technologyreview.com and the Times of San Diego used EFF's map of border tech to conduct this first-of-its-kind analysis of the relationship between surveillance and migrant deaths.

technologyreview.comThe US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?Surveillance towers, increasingly powered by AI, promised faster responses to crossings. Our investigation of deaths near the towers found they are failing to deliver.

Ofc,you can also explore the "Dying on Camera" map itself here: www.technologyreview.com/border-map/ #bordertech #surveillancetech

technologyreview.comBorder surveillance tower map

And this isn't an isolated issue; 2/3of all of the towers (600+) that we analyzed had at least 1 death within their advertised range - and many had far more than that. (You can see a map of the towers and deaths in our story. )

Nor is it an issue of the past. While the Trump admin appears more focused on interior enforcement + deportations, people con't to cross -- and they continue to die within sight of surveillance. Plus, record levels of funding to DHS in 2025, is set to triple the # of towers in coming years.

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

"The idea that an organization that is an alternative host—for email, websites, and other services—could be designated a terrorist organization simply for providing a service that a lot of people want…is scary," EFF’s @jillian.bsky.social told @reason.com.

reason.comRubio uses terrorism law to ban secure email serviceThe State Department doesn’t accuse Autistici/Inventati of doing anything more than providing surveillance-free email accounts. But that’s enough to declare it a terrorist organization.

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

It’s good that Meta is creating some bare-bones safety features for kids, but a far better option would be to make these platforms safe for everyone. Shouldn’t we all be protected from Big Tech’s predations? My latest @nytopinion.nytimes.com (gift link). www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/o...

nytimes.comOpinion | Meta Settles. Finally. (Gift Article)Meta’s settlement is far from perfect, but every blow counts as the company declines.

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Pentagon fires the publisher and the editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper funded by DoD that has long enjoyed editorial independence from the government. wapo.st/3UsenSA

wapo.stPentagon fires Stars and Stripes leaders who criticized DOD’s interferenceThe Defense Department earlier this year railed against the publication, which has long enjoyed editorial independence, as “woke.”

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Flock has told the public for years that its technology “cannot recognize, identify, or track individuals.” The company has now built an AI system that does both. And @wired.com got the system's code -- allowing us to reconstruct it, and learn exactly how Flock's new tool is supposed to work:

wired.comFlock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its CodeFlock’s surveillance cameras have already sparked outrage. WIRED reconstructed its next-generation AI system, already in use by some police, to confirm it goes much further than tracking license plate...

More from the researchers here: bsky.app/profile/shay...

Shayne Longpre@shaynelongpre.bsky.social

(New Release!) How are people really using AI? Today, researchers at MIT, Stanford, + 12 academic institutions are launching the AI Observatory: public infra for measuring how people actually use AI assistants in the wild. 🔗 ai-observatory.org 📜 www.dataprovenance.org/ai_observato...

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Not to be some wild-eyed innocent, but I think it should be slightly bigger news that The Lancet have crunched the numbers and found that Musk's USAID cuts will kill 14 million people. And that's just by 2030. That's 9,600 people a day, every day, until the next world cup rolls around.

Jørgen Heszlein@heszlein.bsky.social

New estimate of Elon Musk’s death toll just dropped www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

I missed this excellent look by @mirandagreen.bsky.social into the conservative funders, pink slime websites, + campus activists that attacked campus #DEI. www.cjr.org/tow_center/h... Same tactics + some of the same groups (Accuracy in Media) that we found in our censorship investigation 👇

cjr.orgHow a network of pink-slime sites and conservative activists went after campus DEI.Using FOIA requests and hidden-camera videos, the groups targeted universities, leading to the firing of faculty and staff.

W/ith @giselilla.bsky.social + @cargocultscientist.bsky.social, I delved into the origins of the “censorship-industrial complex” idea, how it went from the fringes of the online right to a driver of Trump2 policy, + what it means for the Internet. www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1...

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

the fact that a billionaire can randomly throw $100,000,000 into a campaign against taxing the rich seems like the best argument yet they can afford it

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Big important story from @eileenguo.bsky.social and team. Explains… a lot. So proud of all involved.

W/ith @giselilla.bsky.social + @cargocultscientist.bsky.social, I delved into the origins of the “censorship-industrial complex” idea, how it went from the fringes of the online right to a driver of Trump2 policy, + what it means for the Internet. www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1...

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

As someone caught in the web of this elaborate conspiracy theory, its good to see some in-depth, critical analysis of its origins. This right wing propoganda campaign has had a huge impact on politics and policy, with little attention from the center or left. www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1...

technologyreview.comHow ideas of a vast censorship network moved from the online fringe to Trump policyNarratives about a “censorship-industrial complex” spread in right-wing circles for years; then they took hold of Washington. What—and who—is behind them?

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

Excellent reporting by @eileenguo.bsky.social & colleagues at @technologyreview.com about the roots & spread of the right's allegations of a "censorship industrialization complex". Including the little tidbit that @ninajankowicz.com highlights below.... www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1...

urldefense.comHow ideas of a vast censorship network moved from the online fringe to Trump policyNarratives about a “censorship-industrial complex” spread in right-wing circles for years; then they took hold of Washington. What—and who—is behind them?
Nina Jankowicz@ninajankowicz.com

Mike Benz was paid over HALF A MILLION DOLLARS from a SINGLE ORGANIZATION in a SINGLE YEAR to spread lies that there's a massive conspiracy to censor conservatives online www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1...

Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) reposted

***major must-read/must-share deep dive*** into the free speech phonies and their conspiracy theories driving so much bad faith trump admin policy right now

W/ith @giselilla.bsky.social + @cargocultscientist.bsky.social, I delved into the origins of the “censorship-industrial complex” idea, how it went from the fringes of the online right to a driver of Trump2 policy, + what it means for the Internet. www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1...