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MTS · 3 min · Nov 5, 2026
Prosecutors will need to interrogate algorithms
Doha Mekki says technology can amplify small enforcement teams, while companies face scrutiny over systems they may not fully understand.
The episode’s best minutes
Full episode- 2:11High-stakes litigation needs more than basic legal tech3 min
- 5:23Concentrated AI markets can lock out new competitors4 min
- 13:13Prosecutors will need to interrogate algorithms3 min
- 2 more moments in the full episode
“the question is going to be how do you interrogate algorithms”
Takeaways
- Technology can amplify small enforcement teams.
- Companies may not understand how their products are being used.
- Investigators must learn to question system logs and algorithms.
About this segment
Doha Mekki says technology can amplify small enforcement teams, while companies face scrutiny over systems they may not fully understand. Investigators will need to question algorithms, not just human sources.
FluxCap
Theo Jaffee, Host · Co-founder & host, MTS
One of the first members of a16z's new media team; earlier hosted the Emergent Ventures-backed Theo Jaffee Podcast.
Sophia Dew, Host · Host, MTS
From “Why Basic Legal Software Fails High-Stakes Trials | FluxCap”, Nov 5, 2026. Watch the full episode
Thanks. We'll look at and fix what's off.
Transcript
Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.
- 13:18
yeah i am curious in general when you're enabling departments like the doj or antitrust law to now be enabled by tech and they can do things a lot faster a lot more efficiently what does that mean how does that transform everyday businesses so first i think it changes the way that people will have to think about law enforcement i spent 10 years at the doj again including as the you know, lowest attorney on the totem pole, and then have the great honor of seeing two very different administrations administer the law.
- 13:55
I think that the agencies have been gutted, right, especially at the DOJ, which has been hard to see, but it also creates opportunity, because small groups of people are going to be the ones who are first in the door thinking about how to appropriately enforce laws that the American people desperately need enforced. And technology is likely to be an amplifier if done well. Again, we've designed a product.
- 14:28
We have something to say about how that should be done. But just speaking for myself, I would have brought many more cases if I had had FluxCap. And I think the intuition to build the thing that we wanted, having all of this experience and judgment and lots of different places was really important. And then for companies, you know, this is a totally new environment for them. There are products being shipped that consumers who are, you know, sometimes chief legal officers, the general counsel companies, don't even fully understand, right?
- 15:09
meanwhile there are states who in the past two years have passed laws to protect their citizens or residents recognizing that the federal government has not fully enforced the law and that is going to be a tough environment for companies that do not understand their technology and how it's being used it is a great environment for tech forward you know inquisitive companies that, you know, feel a responsibility over their innovation. And I think, you know, just as one concrete example, you know, when prosecutors go out and subpoena information, you're often dealing with human sources, right, who are explaining to you.
- 16:00
you how things work we're in an environment now where agents have logs right the the question is going to be how do you interrogate algorithms right and that's that's a sea change yeah