DOGE is reportedly developing an AI chatbot to analyse government contracts

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly developing a custom AI chatbot for use by U.S. government employees. It looks as though Elon Musk is hoping to use AI to replace the millions of workers he wants to cut.

WIRED reports that DOGE is building an generative AI chatbot for use by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), an independent government agency which manages federal buildings, IT infrastructure, and professional supplies. Called "GSAi," DOGE's custom chatbot is apparently intended to increase federal employees' productivity. Specifically, DOGE reportedly intends to use the chatbot to analyse the GSA's contracts and draft documents.

In audio obtained by WIRED, GSA's Technology Transformation Services (TTS) head Thomas Shedd claimed that this AI project wasn't new, and had already been underway "before we started." A mechanical engineer who had worked at Tesla for eight years, Shedd was appointed to the GSA within days of President Donald Trump's inauguration. He quickly made clear his intent to implement artificial intelligence and automation throughout the U.S. government, including training AI to code government software for multiple different agencies.

"The thing that's different is potentially building that whole system in-house and building it very quickly," said Shedd, as reported by WIRED. "This goes back to this, 'how do we understand how the government is spending money?'"

Trump began drastic federal spending cuts upon taking office less than three weeks ago, with GSA staff reportedly expected to reduce the agency's budget by 50 percent. Cost cutting measures at the GSA will reportedly include job cuts, as well as terminating leases on all federal offices (of which there are approximately 7,500). Presumably Trump and Musk hope to eliminate enough jobs that they won't need the spaces despite the return-to-office order for federal employees.

DOGE had reportedly considered using AI tools which already exist, but decided to build GSAi after determining that current models wouldn't offer all the data it wanted. It has still found use for existing AI tools in other instances, though. Earlier this week the Washington Post reported that DOGE fed sensitive data from the U.S. Department of Education into AI software to analyse its spending.

While AI chatbots are an interesting novelty, they are frequently inaccurate and misleading, making relying upon them for important projects a dangerous proposition. Even so, Musk and Trump appear to be hoping that AI technology will offset the countless federal employees they're planning to dismiss. 

DOGE has been on a mission to drastically cut the federal workforce, presenting approximately two million employees with an apparent "buyout" offer last week. In response, many federal workers have resolved to "hold the line," refusing to resign and be replaced by Trump and Musk loyalists — if they're replaced at all.