McMahill believes AI could significantly help the department, particularly in dealing with public records requests and in investigations involving cell phone tower records. He suggested that AI could expedite the process of blurring faces in videos and sorting through large amounts of cell phone data. In response, Horowitz said applying AI to cell phone tower data would be a "very easy solve" and his partner Marc Andreessen said developing tech to scrub faces from bodycam footage "should be very easy."
Key takeaways:
- Las Vegas police have received funding from Andreessen Horowitz partner Ben Horowitz for technology like drones and license plate readers, and are now looking to incorporate artificial intelligence to sift through police footage and obscure sensitive information.
- Sheriff Kevin McMahill expressed his belief that AI could significantly impact the challenges faced by the police department, particularly in managing large volumes of information from cell phone tower data during investigations.
- Despite concerns from experts and advocates about police accountability and surveillance technology, Horowitz and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department intend to continue and deepen their relationship.
- Other efforts to integrate AI into police work are already underway, with startup Abel raising $5 million to develop AI that sifts through bodycam footage to write a police report, and Axon releasing a series of AI tools to expedite the redaction process.