National

A small but growing number of police departments are using a new AI system that analyzes officers' bodycam footage and flags problematic encounters — as well as commendable ones.

Why it matters: Police departments may be more likely to seek out such tools after five Memphis Police Department officers were charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the death of Tyre Nichols. 

The platform, developed by a company called Truleo, is designed to identify behavior problems with individual officers as well as potentially troubling patterns within a department.

How it works: When police departments sign up with Truleo, audio recordings from all officers' bodycams are fed into its system daily for automatic transcription and analysis.

The platform reviews the recordings in seconds using natural language processing, highlights good and bad interactions, and sends reports to supervisors.

Officers who are polite and professional when a citizen refuses to obey a command get an email praising their performance — as does their sergeant.

If an officer uses profanity, racial slurs, insults or threats — or gets into an inappropriate physical altercation — their boss finds out within hours.

The system — developed by reviewing more than 50,000 "positive interactions" between police officers and non-compliant citizens — detects language use as well as actions such as violence, pursuits, arrests and requests for medical attention. 

Problematic phrases — like "I can't breathe" or "you're hurting me" — get flagged right away.

What they're saying: "It gives the sergeant a roadmap to explain to the officers how to be more professional," says Anthony Tassone, CEO of Chicago-based Truleo.

"The number one feature you want in an officer is someone who gives a lot of explanation relative to commands," Tassone tells Axios. 

But "we see a lot of officers, especially young officers, who give lots of commands with no explanation" — and such encounters are more likely to end badly.

In the Nichols case, officers gave 71 commands in 13 minutes — including "dozens of contradictory and unachievable orders," a New York Times analysis found.

Where it stands: Since its launch a year and a half ago, Truleo's system has been adopted by the Seattle Police Department — which just re-upped with a two-year contract — and about a dozen California departments.

Police in Aurora, Colorado — who are under a consent decree with the state's attorney general over racial bias and excessive use of force — are also about to start using the system.

"In order to effect cultural change, leaders need to understand the current status of the culture within the organization," Art Acevedo, a longtime police chief who just took over in Aurora, said in an interview posted on Truleo's website.

Truleo helps commanding officers "identify patterns of conduct early on — to provide counseling and training, and the opportunity to intervene far earlier than we’ve traditionally been able to," Acevedo said.

Case study: In Alameda, California, the police department's use of force dropped 36% after adopting Truleo, according to a report.

Unprofessional language used by officers fell by 30%, and civilian non-compliance was down 12%.

By the numbers: Truleo costs about $50 per officer a month, which can be offset through insurance reductions or grants to improve community policing.

Reality check: With or without AI's help, bodycam footage can only be used as an aid in the effort to help prevent police violence if officers keep their cameras rolling, and if chiefs, sergeants and other leaders immediately address problematic behavior.

"The number one problem I have is a chief who doesn't want to know what's on this video," Tassone says. "That breaks my heart."

Most bodycam footage lies untouched unless there's a civilian complaint or obvious problem — like Nichols' death. "The hardware itself doesn't improve policing," Tassone says. "You've got to analyze the data."

Backstory: "George Floyd is the reason we're in this industry now," says Tassone, whose AI platform previously analyzed sales and customer support calls for big Wall Street banks.

"Because we realized that there's hundreds of millions of hours of video sitting in the cloud that could solve this problem, but right now it's just locked away, totally unusable."

The bottom line: As the number of high-profile civilian deaths continues to mount, expect more police departments to seek out solutions that promise to improve accountability.

New AI tool instantly analyzes police bodycam footage

The tech is designed to identify troubling patterns before serious problems arise.

Illustration of sound waves in the shape of a police badge. 

Police

Economy & Business

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Tel Aviv

Axios from Tel Aviv

Secretary of State Tony Blinken urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting in Jerusalem on Monday to build a broad consensus around his judicial overhaul plan.

Why it matters: Blinken's comments are the most significant and strongest remarks the Biden administration has made about the Netanyahu government's plan to weaken Supreme Court and other democratic institutions. 

The plan has deepened political divisions in Israel and prompted mass demonstrations against Netanyahu's government. 

What they're saying: "Building a consensus around new proposals is the best way to make sure they are embraced and endure," Blinken told Netanyahu after their meeting.

Blinken stressed in televised remarks with Netanyahu that the U.S.-Israel relationship is strong because it is based on both shared interests and shared values — a point that was discussed during their meeting, according to U.S. ambassador to Israel Tom Nides. 

Blinken also stressed the importance of supporting democratic institutions and values, protecting human rights and rights of minorities, adhering to the rule of law, protecting freedom of the press and a strong civil society.

“We have seen lately how vibrant Israeli civil society is," Blinken said, apparently referring to the mass protests against the Netanyahu government’s judicial plan.

Netanyahu, who spoke before Blinken, also stressed the shared democratic values of both the U.S. and Israel. 

“We are two strong democracies and I promise you that we will stay two strong democracies," Netanyahu said.

Blinken and Israeli President Issac Herzog also discussed the judicial overhaul plan on Monday. 

“I saw your comments regarding the Israeli internal situation [and], of course, the constitutional argument that has ensued in the Israeli public, something that I am heavily devoted to trying to resolve or lead to a path of internal dialogue," Herzog told Blinken. 

"As you said correctly, this is an issue that requires wide consensus, and it is an issue many democracies debate. We are a vibrant democracy," he added.  "But at the end of the day, we have to resolve our issues amicably, internally, as societies and nations should do, and this is my main focus these very days." 

Blinken replied by saying he appreciated Herzog's leadership and his "voice when it comes to finding a good way forward that builds consensus on the question of judicial reform."

Behind the scenes: Initially, the new Israeli government's judicial plan wasn't at the top of the Biden administration's priorities related to its policy toward Israel, according to U.S. officials. Many inside the administration didn’t think the U.S. should weigh in on it, as Axios previously reported. 

But as the internal debate in Israel escalated, the White House realized that there was a need to make clear where it stood on the plan, U.S. officials said.

A U.S. official told Axios that after White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan raised the issue with Netanyahu in private during his visit to Jerusalem 10 days ago, the administration decided that Blinken would speak about it publicly during the visit. 

Catch up quick: Netanyahu's government, made up of the most right-wing and religious coalition in Israel's history, has been in power for about a month.

Its judicial overhaul plan, if implemented, would significantly limit the Supreme Court’s ability to review laws and strike them down.

The plan includes passing a law that would allow the governing coalition to override Supreme Court rulings by a simple majority of 61 votes in the 120-member Knesset.

It also seeks to end the Supreme Court's ability to revoke administrative decisions by the government on the grounds of "reasonability," significantly decreasing judicial oversight.

The plan envisions giving the government and the coalition in parliament absolute control over appointing judges.

Additionally, the plan includes changing the law so that ministers would be able to install political appointees as legal advisers in their ministries, something that is not under their authority today.

Legal experts have said the plan will eliminate the ability of the judicial branch to do the checks and balances against the executive and legislative branches, which are both controlled by the governing coalition, and it would negatively impact the Palestinians. 

The big picture: Blinken arrived in Israel on Monday afternoon after meeting with Egyptian President Fatah al-Sisi in Cairo. 

The two leaders "reaffirmed their strong commitment to the U.S.-Egypt strategic partnership and cooperation on a range of regional and international challenges," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday. 

Blinken on Monday also met with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.

What to watch: Blinken is scheduled to meet with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday before traveling to Ramallah for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 

Blinken on Monday stressed that both Israel and the Palestinians need to restore calm and de-escalate the situation after heightened violence over the last few days. 

Editor's note: This story has been updated with President Isaac Herzog's comments. 

Blinken urges Netanyahu to build broad consensus around judicial overhaul plan

It's the most significant statement the Biden administration has made about the Netanyahu's plan to weaken Supreme Court.

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a press conference in Jerusalem on Jan. 30. 

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a press conference in Jerusalem on Jan. 30. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

Generate

Axios Generate

Whats Next

Axios What's Next

Ford said Monday morning it's lowering prices for the Mustang Mach-E.

Why it matters: The price war has begun amid growing competition in the EV market.

“We are not going to cede ground to anyone," Marin Gjaja, a top Ford EV executive, in a statement.

Driving the news: Ford is cutting 2023 Mach-E prices from $600 to $5,900, depending on the configuration and battery.

Ford is the No. 2 U.S. EV seller, far behind Tesla but looking to gain ground. 

Last year, Mach-E sales grew 45% to well over 39,000 units and Ford also said it's now "significantly" increasing production. 

Catch up fast: Ford's move comes two weeks after Tesla cut prices by up to 20% on the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover.

The Vietnamese startup VinFast has also cut prices as it seeks a beachhead in the U.S. market.

The intrigue: Look for companies to bring the price of more models under the eligibility cap for U.S. consumer purchase subsidies.

Ford's move boosts the number of Mach-E versions under the $55,000 ceiling. It's $80,000 for SUVs and designations of what's-what are controversial.

The big picture: Market leader Tesla and Ford bring strengths and weaknesses to the competition.

The 120-year-old Ford actually has a newer EV lineup. In addition to the Mach-E, Ford got into the pickup market faster with the electric F-150 that arrived last year.

But Tesla has more room to maneuver on prices. Its profit margin is vastly higher than the legacy automakers, and Tesla last week also vowed to improve its overall business cost structure.

"We believe our margins will remain healthy and industry-leading over the course of the year," CEO Elon Musk told analysts on an earnings call.

What we're watching: The intra-GOP politics of EVs. On Saturday, former President Trump used a South Carolina campaign event to bash EVs as he seeks the 2024 GOP nomination. 

Yes, but: Red states like Georgia and Tennessee are increasingly home to EV and battery manufacturing with the support of GOP politicians — including South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.

"In the last several months, McMaster and several businesses announced billions of dollars in investments from the electric vehicle industry," The State newspaper's coverage of Trump's rally noted.

Ford cuts Mustang Mach-E prices amid EV competition

Ford is the No. 2 U.S. EV seller, far behind Tesla but looking to gain ground.

Illustration of Benjamin Franklin in a car's rear view mirror, with a dollar-symbol air freshener.

Electric vehicles

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

Vitals

Axios Vitals

The number of women who died during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth jumped in the first year of the pandemic, a study in JAMA Network Open shows.

Why it matters: While pregnancy-associated causes were still the leading cause of death, the jump in mortality between 2019 and 2020 was largely not related to the pregnancies themselves.

By the numbers: The study, led by the University of Texas at San Antonio, found mortality rates increased by 22%, from 27.5 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019 to 33.6 deaths per 100,000 live births for pregnancy-associated causes in 2020. 

They jumped 36%, from 26.4 to 36 per 100,000 live births for nonpregnancy causes over that time.

Mortality rates increased "significantly" for drug poisoning, motor vehicle collisions and homicide, but did not increase due to suicide.

What they're saying: "One of the main messages, I think, from this is really that there's a much bigger societal problem facing pregnant women and new mothers who are in that postpartum period where, you know, that's a very stressful time of life," Jeffrey Howard, an author of the study and associate professor of public health at the University of Texas at San Antonio told CNN.

Deaths jump among pregnant women

The jump in mortality between 2019 and 2020 was largely not related to the pregnancies themselves.

An IV bag hangs as surgeons conduct an operation.

Health care

The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.

Health

The meteoric rise in food prices slowed slightly in December, per a new Axios analysis — but prices were still up more than 10% year-over-year, as groceries and restaurants gobbled up a larger-than-usual amount of Americans' spending.

Why it matters: Grocery bills are one of the most powerful ways in which many Americans experience inflation.

As the cost of eggs, milk, and other staples rise, families living on the financial edge are left making difficult choices about what to buy — and what to skip.

For restaurants and other businesses, higher food prices can leave owners with the difficult choice of swallowing the costs or passing them on to customers.

By the numbers: Nationwide, the cost of all foods was up 10.4% year-over-year in December, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The cost of food prepared at home was up 11.8%, while food consumed at restaurants was up 8.3%. 

Those are all down just slightly from recent highs set towards the end of 2022.

Zoom in: Dallas, the Twin Cities, and Baltimore are suffering some of the country's highest food price inflation rates, at 14.1%, 13.7%, and 13.5%, respectively. 

By comparison, food prices are up 7% in Washington, D.C., 7.7% in Chicago, and 8.8% in Miami.

Driving the news: COVID-related supply chain disruptions, climate change, and higher energy costs are just some of the factors contributing to higher food prices.

Russia's war in Ukraine, a major wheat producer, continues to affect the global supply — and thus price — of that key foodstuff.

The Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, is under increasing pressure from lawmakers and advocacy groups to investigate whether egg producers are manipulating prices.

The intrigue: Some businesses have noticed that while consumers may gripe about higher costs, they're willing to pony up, as the New York Times recently reported — disincentivizing them from bringing prices back down to Earth.

The big picture: Rising prices aren't just changing the kinds of food Americans are buying, as Axios' Emily Peck recently reported — they're forcing some families to buy less food entirely.

"People are starting to think about what they truly need — and what can wait," Emily wrote.

What we're watching: There are some glimmers of hope on the horizon.

Wholesale egg prices, for instance, are beginning to drop, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports. Retail prices usually follow.

The bottom line: Many of the underlying economic and political factors affecting food prices persist, making it all but impossible to predict what your grocery spending might look like this year.

Food inflation slowed down last month — but the relief may not last

The meteoric rise in food prices ebbed slightly in December

Food

A chart shows food prices rise sharply in 2022, beginning to drop slightly in December.

Tech Policy

The overnight success of ChatGPT is kicking off a tech-industry race to bake AI into everyday products and decision-making with little oversight from government.

Why it matters: ChatGPT's uncanny ability to spit out stories, articles and recipes is heating up AI awareness and concerns, yet there's almost no effective U.S. regulation of the technology in place, raising fears it could promote bias, misinformation, fraud and hate.

What they're saying: "We can harness and regulate AI to create a more utopian society or risk having an unchecked, unregulated AI push us toward a more dystopian future," Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who recommends creating a  government agency to oversee AI, wrote in a New York Times op-ed last week.

U.S. lawmakers have been talking about AI's promise and perils for many years. But as with previous waves of tech innovation, products' speed-to-market has far outstripped the government's readiness to regulate.

For every leader like Lieu that's pushing for fast, strong AI rules, there's another warning that premature regulation could stifle progress and limit American efforts to compete with China and other rivals.

State of play: "It's a patchwork system [of AI regulation] in the United States," with some laws around transparency and preventing discrimination from AI on the state level but only early moves at the federal level, Jessica Newman, who leads the AI Security Initiative at the UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, told Axios.

 "I still think there's a long way to go and I would love to see federal AI regulation that is more comprehensive," Newman said. 

What's happening: In Congress, lawmakers have proposed regulations on the use of facial recognition and other applications of AI.

The White House has an AI research office and has released a blueprint AI Bill of Rights.

The Federal Trade Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other federal agencies have begun to float new rules on the use of AI.

Driving the news: This week, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the Department of Commerce, put out a long-awaited AI framework, meant to give companies guidance on using, designing or deploying AI systems.

The framework should "accelerate AI innovation and growth while advancing — rather than restricting or damaging — civil rights, civil liberties and equity for all," Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves said this week.

Yes, but: The framework is voluntary, and companies face no consequences for straying from it.

The hope is that eventual rules around AI will take lessons from the framework, Chandler Morse, vice president of corporate affairs at Workday, an enterprise cloud tech company, told Axios.

"It's going to have a major impact in future conversations around AI governance and the regulatory landscape," he said. "ChatGPT has sort of elevated the conversation... there's a recognition of look, we've got to get as much paint on the canvas as we can."

The other side: "The government should not be in the business of making very fine-grained laws or regulation because stuff just moves very, very rapidly," Sridhar Ramaswamy, founder of ad-free search engine Neeva, which has its own generative text program for search results, told Axios.

"I'm hard pressed to say that regulation is going to be helpful when it comes to AI in the near term... This is not to say that existing laws should not be applied to people using these models in unfair ways," he said.

Meanwhile: Across the Atlantic, European Union regulators approved the Artificial Intelligence Regulation Act last December, with the European Parliament set to vote on it this spring and adoption by the end of 2023. The sweeping regulation will apply to companies outside of the EU as well, with fines for noncompliance of up to 30 million euro.

"The difference between Europe and the U.S. is that when Europe decides to regulate something, they can actually get it done," Morse said. 

The U.S. and the European Union Friday signed an agreement to collaborate on "responsible advancements" in AI.

China passed rules targeting algorithmic recommendations last March.

What to watch: It's possible the rapid-fire adoption of ChatGPT will push regulators to move more quickly on AI rules, but such efforts face political hurdles and practical obstacles, since there are so many different uses of AI.

The Federal Trade Commission is in the process of creating new rules around commercial surveillance and data security that will govern any company that develops and deploys AI systems. Individual states such as Massachusetts are also mulling legislation, per CBS News. 

With split party control of Congress, few expect a bipartisan breakthrough on a new federal AI law.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to properly name the National Institute of Standards and Technology (not Science and Technology).

AI rockets ahead in vacuum of U.S. regulation

Thanks to ChatGPT, AI is getting fast-tracked by tech companies way ahead of efforts to establish rules and guide rails.

Artificial intelligence

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Health Care Policy

Health Care Policy Thought Bubble

Sen. Bernie Sanders has long made no secret that he thinks drug companies and health insurers are ripping off Americans. But now he's chairman of the Senate health committee.

Why it matters: Sanders has signaled an early focus of the committee's work will be drug prices, and manufacturers are bracing for some contentious hearings.

"I have no doubt there will be tough hearings with people from industry being forced to testify, subpoenaed to testify, etc.," a pharmaceutical industry source said. "And I think that's going to be a real challenge."

What they're saying: Sanders told Axios in a brief hallway interview last week that he does plan to have hearings in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on drug prices.

Asked specifically if that will include calling drug company executives to testify, Sanders said: "We're working on a strategy right now that will be very aggressive."

Sanders has already set the tone for his chairmanship with a Fox News op-ed saying "greedy pharma rips off Americans." In a short video he posted on Twitter, Sanders previewed the committee's agenda, including how it would "take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry." 

Sanders allies say it is little secret that he wants to press pharmaceutical executives. "I think very near the first order of business for Bernie Sanders at HELP is calling these corporations to account," said Alex Lawson, executive director of the progressive group Social Security Works.

Lawson said he expects Sanders to send letters to drug companies with questions before calling hearings.

"It doesn't take reading tea leaves to think that Sanders will want to do that," Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on HELP, said of drug company hearings. "If he calls them in, I have questions," he added.

Between the lines: The important upside for industry is that with a divided Congress, Sanders has basically no ability to get his most sweeping ideas signed into law at the moment. What he will have is the use of the bully pulpit and the public relations battle.

"We're seeing companies intensify their proactive education and advocacy efforts, while also preparing to deal with fresh attacks from the senator," said a consultant who works with pharmaceutical companies.

The consultant added that there is hope attention can shift to other players in the drug supply chain, starting with pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, who negotiate drug prices on behalf of health plans and have been the target of more finger-pointing over what patients actually pay at the pharmacy counter.

Lori Reilly, chief operating officer at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said they are "preparing for anything and everything" when asked about Sanders as chairman.

She said they had not heard directly from him about hearings, but "my assumption is he will be having hearings on that, and our companies have testified before and we've testified before, so I wouldn't be surprised if that happens."

PhRMA spokesman Brian Newell said in a statement that "we can't ignore the real drivers of health care spending or middlemen who are shifting costs onto people at the pharmacy."

Keep in mind: Democrats last year fulfilled a long-held goal by passing drug pricing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that for the first time gave Medicare the power to negotiate the prices of some drugs that have been on the market for several years but don't have competition from generics.

While Sanders has put his early focus on drug companies, the Medicare for All proponent and two-time presidential candidate is certainly no fan of health insurers either. But one health insurance industry executive said they hope to work with him on drug pricing — and putting heat on manufacturers.  

"Senator Sanders certainly has his point of view," David Merritt, a senior vice president at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, told reporters last week. "I do think we can find some common ground on the need to reform the prescription drug industry."

The bottom line: Sanders is getting ready for a fight.

"However scared they are, they're not scared enough," Lawson said of the health care industry. "Because that's the energy that Bernie Sanders, from my opinion from speaking with HELP, is bringing to this."

A version of this story was published first on Axios Pro. Get news like this by subscribing. Use code POLICY100 which gives you $100 off.

Drug companies brace for chairman Bernie

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks to members of the press outside the White House on Jan. 25. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Bernie Sanders

Atlanta

Charlotte

Axios Charlotte

One hour before the city of Memphis released videos of police fatally beating Tyre Nichols on Friday, Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens joined leaders from cities and states across the country condemning the officers’ actions.

Why it matters: The Memphis footage prompted emotional responses from people around the country, but in the ever-changing South, they were also painful reminders of a shared past, and a complicated future.  

"Atlanta and Memphis have a shared history: Atlanta is the birthplace of Dr. King, and Memphis is where he was killed by an assassin," Dickens said in a video shared to his social feeds. "This is yet another time where we all have to bear witness to the loss of life at the hands — loss of Black life, a Black man dying — at the hands of law enforcement."

Southern cities mourn with Memphis

Demonstrations in North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee are peaceful

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