Cost-Cutting Initiatives and AI Deployment in the US Government
AI Initiatives in the US Government
For the past few weeks, Elon Musk’s team has been working to swiftly cut costs across the US government, which has seen its annual deficit increase for the last three years. The Office of Personnel Management, which acts as the HR department for the government and is stacked with Musk loyalists, has encouraged federal employees to resign if they cannot return to the office five days a week and commit to a culture of loyalty and excellence.
AI Deployment in the Department of Education
DOGE’s AI initiatives dovetail with the group’s efforts to reduce the federal budget and speed up existing processes. For instance, DOGE members at the Department of Education are reportedly using AI tools to analyze spending and programs, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. A department spokesperson says that the focus is on finding cost efficiencies.
GSAi Chatbot Project
The General Services Administration’s GSAi chatbot project could bring similar benefits, enabling workers, for example, to draft memos faster. The agency had hoped to use existing software such as Google Gemini, but ultimately determined that it wouldn’t provide the level of data DOGE desired, according to one of the people familiar with the project. Google spokesperson Jose Castañeda declined to comment.
AI Coding Agents
It’s not the only DOGE AI ambition that hasn’t panned out. On Monday, Shedd described deploying "AI coding agents" as among the agency’s top priorities, according to remarks described to WIRED. These agents help engineers automatically generate, edit, and answer questions about software code in hopes of boosting productivity and reducing errors. One tool the team looked into, according to documents viewed by WIRED, was Cursor, a coding assistant developed by Anysphere, a fast-growing San Francisco startup.
Conflict of Interest
Anysphere’s leading investors include Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz—both of which have connections to Trump. Joshua Kushner, Thrive’s managing partner, has historically made political campaign donations to Democrats, but he is the brother of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Andreessen cofounder Marc Andreessen has said he’s advising Trump on tech and energy policy.
Alternative Option
A different person familiar with the General Services Administration’s technology purchases says the IT team at the agency had initially approved the use of Cursor, only to retract it later for further review. Now, DOGE is pushing to install Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, the world’s most well-known coding assistant, according to the other person familiar with the agency.
Federal Regulations
Federal regulations require avoiding even the appearance of a conflict of interest in the choice of suppliers. And while there haven’t been any known widespread concerns about Cursor’s security, federal agencies are generally required by law to study potential cybersecurity risks before adopting new technology.
Conclusion
The federal government’s interest and use of AI isn’t new. In October 2023, then-president Biden ordered the General Services Administration to prioritize security reviews for several categories of AI tools, including chatbots and coding assistants. But by the end of his term, none had made it through even the preliminary agency review processes, according to a former official familiar with them. As a result, no dedicated AI-assisted coding tools have received authorization under FedRAMP, a GSA program to centralize security reviews and ease the burden on individual agencies.
FAQs
- Q: What are DOGE AI initiatives?
A: DOGE’s AI initiatives aim to reduce the federal budget and speed up existing processes, such as using AI tools to analyze spending and programs in the Department of Education. - Q: What is the GSAi chatbot project?
A: The GSAi chatbot project is an initiative to develop a chatbot that can draft memos faster, among other tasks. - Q: What is the AI coding agents initiative?
A: The AI coding agents initiative aims to deploy agents that can automatically generate, edit, and answer questions about software code, boosting productivity and reducing errors. - Q: What is the conflict of interest issue?
A: The conflict of interest issue arises from the involvement of Trump-connected investors in Anysphere, the developer of Cursor, a coding assistant being considered for use by the General Services Administration.
