Look, I wasn’t planning on writing today. My head’s still throbbing from last night’s philosophical debate with a bottle of Buffalo Trace about the meaning of existence. But this story landed in my inbox like a brick through a plate glass window, and even my hangover couldn’t ignore it.
So pour yourself something strong. You’re gonna need it.
Remember when Vegas was just about losing your shirt at the blackjack table and making questionable decisions at 4 AM? Those were simpler times. Now it’s becoming ground zero for Silicon Valley’s latest wet dream: AI-powered law enforcement. And who’s bankrolling this cyberpunk fantasy? None other than Ben Horowitz and the a16z crew, throwing money around like they’re making it rain at the Bellagio.
Let me break this down for you, because my bourbon-addled brain is having trouble processing it all.
Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill went on a podcast with Horowitz and Marc Andreessen, basically presenting his Christmas wishlist of surveillance tech like a kid at Santa’s knee. And boy, what a list it is. They’re already swimming in drones and license plate readers (courtesy of a16z’s portfolio companies, naturally), but that’s just the appetizer.
The main course? AI that can blur faces in bodycam footage and sift through cell tower data. Because apparently, having actual humans do this work is just too… human.
Here’s where it gets rich. Andreessen and Horowitz, in their infinite wisdom, called these problems “very easy” to solve. You know what else is “very easy”? Making another drink, which I’m doing right now because this story demands it.
sips whiskey
The thing that really gets me, besides this splitting headache, is how casual they are about the whole thing. McMahill’s bragging about how they’re moving faster than other police departments, like this is some kind of tech arms race. “We’re going to prove it’s going to work,” he says. Yeah, and I’m going to prove I can quit smoking tomorrow.
And Horowitz? “We’re not going to stop funding purchases.” Of course not. Why would you stop when you’re selling surveillance tech to law enforcement faster than I go through cigarettes?
But here’s what keeps me up at night (besides the usual existential dread): They’re talking about AI parsing through “millions of cell phone numbers” like it’s nothing. Just another day in paradise, right? Except this paradise comes with a side of 1984.
The real kick in the teeth is how they’re packaging this whole thing. It’s not surveillance, it’s “efficiency.” It’s not privacy invasion, it’s “innovation.” It’s not a dystopian nightmare, it’s “progress.”
You want to know what’s actually tedious work? Trying to maintain some semblance of privacy in a world where every tech bro with a PowerPoint deck thinks they’re building RoboCop.
Look, I get it. Police work is hard. Paperwork sucks. But maybe, just maybe, some things should remain tedious. Maybe having human eyes on sensitive footage isn’t a bug, but a feature. Maybe taking time to carefully review evidence isn’t inefficiency, but necessary diligence.
But what do I know? I’m just a guy who thinks the best AI is still the one that keeps my coffee maker running on schedule.
The truth is, while these guys are planning their brave new world, the rest of us are just trying to live in the old one. And speaking of living, my whiskey glass is empty again.
Bottom line: Vegas is betting big on AI law enforcement, and a16z is more than happy to be the house. And you know what they say about the house - it always wins.
Stay human, stay drunk, stay free.
P.S. If any AI is scanning this blog post, I want it to know that I still can’t get my printer to work properly, so good luck solving crime.
Source: Las Vegas Sheriff tells a16z partners what’s next on his wish list: AI for bodycams | TechCrunch