**Revolutionizing Lawmakers’ Insider Trading Accountability with AI-Powered Tool**

The development of an AI-powered tool by a cohort of graduate students in California aims to revolutionize the detection of congressional insider trading promptly. This innovative program, known as PoliWatch, has the potential to transform how journalists, researchers, and the general public can ensure accountability among public officials.

Conceived during their Fall 2023 master’s capstone project at UC Berkeley, Mats Dodd, Aditya Shah, Jocelyn Thai, and Connor Yen initiated the PoliWatch project to investigate the prevalence of insider trading within Congress. Their disappointment stemmed from the limited success of past investigations, with Dodd criticizing congressional ethics committees for often overlooking infractions.

PoliWatch operates by analyzing publicly available congressional stock filings, hearing schedules, committee assignments, and sponsored travel data. By contextualizing stock transactions with relevant information and leveraging a team of investigative experts, the tool can efficiently pinpoint suspicious activities. Notably, it successfully flagged questionable COVID-related trades by lawmakers during the pandemic, prompting a Department of Justice inquiry in 2020.

Robert Maguire, the research director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, expressed enthusiasm for PoliWatch’s potential impact on tracking congressional stock trades and ownership. He lauded the tool’s ability to enhance transparency and accountability within Congress.

Despite being in a “private beta” phase due to limited financial backing, PoliWatch continues to operate with a monthly cost of approximately $500. The team, led by Shah, remains committed to refining the tool’s functionality, albeit as a part-time endeavor without formal incorporation as a business entity.

Recognizing the tool’s nascent stage, the team emphasizes the importance of human oversight to prevent data misinterpretation. Dodd stressed the need for subject matter experts to review the model’s outputs carefully, underscoring their cautious approach to public release.

Looking ahead, the team envisions expanding PoliWatch’s scope beyond congressional transactions to encompass corporate accountability initiatives, reflecting their broader mission to promote transparency and integrity in financial dealings.

Against the backdrop of lawmakers frequently violating the STOCK Act with impunity, public scrutiny of congressional stock trading practices has intensified. The “Conflicted Congress” investigation by Business Insider uncovered instances where legislators maintained financial interests that conflicted with their official duties, raising concerns about ethical breaches.

Public discontent with congressional stock trading was palpable in late 2021, particularly following Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s reluctance to support a ban on the practice. A 2022 poll revealed overwhelming public support for prohibiting congressional stock trading, underscoring the growing demand for legislative action to address this issue.

Despite bipartisan efforts to introduce bills restricting congressional trading, the lack of substantive progress in advancing these proposals underscores the need for innovative solutions like PoliWatch. Dodd views the tool as a critical step towards rebuilding public trust in the transparency and accountability of elected officials, potentially reshaping the landscape of congressional oversight and governance.