CAROLINE HASKINS SECURITY JAN 23, 2026 12:08 PM CBP Wants AI-Powered ‘Quantum Sensors’ for Finding Fentanyl in Cars US Customs and Border Protection is paying General Dynamics to create prototype “quantum sensors,” to be used with an AI database to detect fentanyl and other narcotics. PHOTOGRAPH: JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES Get our Tracker: ICE newsletter to understand what’s happening and what’s coming next SIGN UP By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy. You’ve read your last free article. The intersection of technology, power, and culture. Start your free trial and get access to 5 all-new premium newsletters—cancel anytime. START FREE TRIAL Already a subscriber? Sign In The intersection of technology, power, and culture. Start your free trial and get access to 5 all-new premium newsletters START FREE TRIAL You Might Also Like In your inbox: Sign up for our new Tracker: ICE newsletter TikTok now collects even more of your data Big Story: ICE pretends it’s a military force, but it would get soldiers killed Microdosing for depression works about as well as drinking coffee Watch: We raced in exoskeletons to see if they actually help Caroline Haskins is a business reporter at WIRED, covering Silicon Valley, surveillance, and labor. She was previously a staff reporter at Business Insider, BuzzFeed News, and Vice's Motherboard, as well as a research editor at Business Insider. Send tips to carolinehaskins.61 on Signal. ... Read More STAFF WRITER TOPICS CRIME DRUGS QUANTUM DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IMMIGRATION SCIENCE Don't Just Keep Up. Get Ahead Sign up for the Daily newsletter to get our biggest stories, handpicked for you each day. SIGN UP By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy. READ MORE Here’s the Company That Sold DHS ICE’s Notorious Face Recognition App Immigration agents have used Mobile Fortify to scan the faces of countless people in the US—including many citizens. MADDY VARNER The Real AI Talent War Is for Plumbers and Electricians The AI boom is driving an unprecedented wave of data center construction, but there aren’t enough skilled tradespeople in the US to keep up. CAROLINE HASKINS Elon Musk’s Grok ‘Undressing’ Problem Isn’t Fixed X has placed more restrictions on Grok’s ability to generate explicit AI images, but tests show that the updates have created a patchwork of limitations that fail to fully address the issue. MATT BURGESS The Doomsday Clock Is Now 85 Seconds to Midnight. Here’s What That Means Catastrophic risks are increasing, cooperation is declining, and swift action is needed from global leaders to correct course. MARTA MUSSO ICE Is Using Palantir’s AI Tools to Sort Through Tips ICE has been using an AI-powered Palantir system to summarize tips sent to its tip line since last spring, according to a newly released Homeland Security document. CAROLINE HASKINS Roblox’s AI-Powered Age Verification Is a Complete Mess Kids are being identified as adults—and vice versa—on Roblox, while age-verified accounts are already being sold online. DAVID GILBERT How AI Companies Got Caught Up in US Military Efforts Two years ago, companies like Meta and OpenAI were united against military use of their tools. Now all of that has changed. NICK SRNICEK Inside OpenAI’s Raid on Thinking Machines Lab OpenAI is planning to bring over more researchers from Thinking Machines Lab after nabbing two cofounders, a source familiar with the situation says. Plus, the latest efforts to automate jobs with AI. MAXWELL ZEFF The Math on AI Agents Doesn’t Add Up A research paper suggests AI agents are mathematically doomed to fail. The industry doesn’t agree. STEVEN LEVY Google DeepMind Staffers Ask Leaders to Keep Them ‘Physically Safe’ From ICE A federal agent allegedly tried to enter Google’s Cambridge campus in the fall, WIRED has learned. Now, staffers want policies that protect them from immigration officials. MAXWELL ZEFF An AI Toy Exposed 50,000 Logs of Its Chats With Kids to Anyone With a Gmail Account AI chat toy company Bondu left its web console almost entirely unprotected. Researchers who accessed it found nearly all the conversations children had with the company’s stuffed animals. ANDY GREENBERG A New AI Math Startup Just Cracked 4 Previously Unsolved Problems Axiom says its AI found solutions to several long-standing math problems, a sign of the technology’s steadily advancing reasoning capabilities. WILL KNIGHT