President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk have embarked on a controversial initiative to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the federal government. Despite aiming for innovation and efficiency, the initiative threatens American ideals of equality, accountability, and democracy, raising significant concerns of security risks and workforce accountability .
Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose current goal is to streamline government operations by identifying and eliminating inefficiencies, using AI. According to The Washington Post, to relieve debt and increase government efficiency, Musk’s team is running AI programs to analyze federal spending and determine areas of reduction. The department has yet to yield any results for increased efficiency, leading to speculation on the true intentions behind this initiative.
The integration of AI in the government best serves the corporate interests of tech companies: particularly those that Musk is involved in. Musk has shown strong interest in AI as an entity, both attempting to buy OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT and developing his own interface, XAI; suggesting that his ambition isn’t solely innovation and efficiency driven.
Rather, he appears to be positioning himself to monopolize AI development–giving Musk control over AI systems and influence how they’re applied. Business Insider reports that DOGE has redirected many government functions to contractors within Musk’s network (Tesla, SpaceX, and XAI), feeding sensitive data and thus centralizing influence into hands that best serve his interests, undermining the stability and trust in our government framework.
DOGE’s target departments are often those disfavored by the Trump administration, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and Department of Education, expressing discontent in both department’s for their role in public opinion. While DOGE has declared them burdensome to government resources, cutting costs from already strained and vital public resources does not boost efficiency. Instead, it reveals an effort on eliminating programs that conflict or threaten the ideals of the Trump administration, introducing bias that threatens the U.S. government’s credibility.
DOGE claims AI can increase efficiency, eliminate human error, and provide data-driven solutions to improve government operations. However, AI lacks human judgment and contextual understanding necessary for complex geopolitical situations, such as the moral and ethical implications behind cutting resources through unemployment. Unlike human workers, privately-run AI systems aren’t held to the same accountability and are incredibly susceptible to hacking and manipulation, posing significant security risks.
Efficiency shouldn’t come at the cost of public welfare. For DOGE to ethically implement AI efficiency in the government, a solution that is transparent, unbiased, and prioritizes public interests is absolutely critical in order to protect American values.
