In a chilling warning for ordinary Americans, national security experts say the U.S. government’s new billion-dollar artificial intelligence surveillance program has quietly built one of the most powerful monitoring systems on Earth — capable of tracking your social media posts, flight history, bank transactions, and even your movements in real time.
Behind the scenes, federal agencies have poured nearly $1 billion since January into AI-driven surveillance tools — much of it funneled to Palantir Technologies, the controversial data analytics firm co-founded in 2003 by billionaire Peter Thiel and funded by the CIA’s venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel.
What began as a counterterrorism tool in the post-9/11 era has now evolved into something far broader — and far closer to home.
“This digital dragnet has the potential to place every American under unprecedented scrutiny,” warned Pilar Marrero, a panelist at the American Community Media Forum on AI oversight. “What starts as surveillance of immigrants can quickly become surveillance of all.”
Just last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was exposed by Wired Magazine for running a covert, AI-powered social media surveillance unit operating 24 hours a day.
The same agency, according to federal contract data, quietly signed a $2 million deal with the Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions — a company whose technology allows government agents to hack directly into smartphones.
Meanwhile, other government offices reportedly spent nearly $800,000 to obtain data on over half of all global air travelers, including names, itineraries, and payment details.
And it’s not just immigration or transportation officials cashing in. In July, the Pentagon handed out contracts worth up to $200 million each to a roster of AI heavyweights — including Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI — to develop surveillance and defense applications that blur the line between national security and private life.
Cybersecurity analyst Matt Burk told RadarOnline.com that the technology Americans carry with them every day is already doing the government’s work.
“No one wants to admit it, but we’re all carrying around the most sophisticated spying device ever known to man,” Burk said, referring to smartphones.
He added, “Everyone needs to not only be aware of the risks they face today, but to learn how to protect themselves from what’s coming next.”
Civil liberties groups say the pattern is unmistakable — from data collection on travelers to social media tracking — the U.S. is building a digital surveillance empire in plain sight.
“This is no longer about terrorists or criminals,” said Dr. Lisa Harper, a Georgetown law professor specializing in technology ethics. “It’s about control. When you combine AI with massive datasets and little oversight, you’re giving the state the power to watch everyone, all the time.”
Palantir, now valued at over $430 billion, has seen its stock soar as government contracts multiply. The firm’s deep connections to U.S. intelligence, along with its new military partnerships, have made it a cornerstone of the country’s surveillance infrastructure — and a target for privacy advocates.
Yet for most Americans, the shift has been silent. Algorithms scrape social media, border agents monitor travelers, and AI systems decide who to flag — all without a vote, or even public debate.
“This is Big Brother with a billion-dollar budget,” Marrero said bluntly. “And he’s already looking over your shoulder.”
Source: Exclusive interviews with cybersecurity experts, government procurement records, and public data reviewed by RadarOnline.com.
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