In the nearly three weeks since Donald Trump was sworn in as president, Elon Musk and a small cohort of young loyalists have torn through the D.C. bureaucracy blindly and possibly illegally, blocking federal spending and pushing out anyone who stands in their way.
Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer who was recently made director of Technology Transformation Services at the General Services Administration, told staffers that he wants to transform the agency into the image of a Silicon Valley startup. That includes using artificial intelligence to speed up Musk’s cost cutting efforts, Wired reported.
The federal government’s use of AI applications has already accelerated. Under former President Biden’s AI executive order, agencies were required to create and publicly publish an inventory of AI use cases. From 2023 to 2024, those use cases swelled from 710 to 1,757.
But the plan proposed by Shedd goes beyond anything envisioned by the Biden administration.
The GSA is an independent agency in the executive branch tasked with providing logistical and managerial support, including property management and IT services, to other federal agencies. Shedd said he wants the GSA to use AI-coding agents to help all federal agencies with their coding needs. This comes as some GSA staffers have been warned that major layoffs are expected as the agency looks to cut 50 percent of its budget.
Meanwhile, OpenAI recently released a version of ChatGPT specifically designed for government agencies. But given the ongoing animosity and legal battles between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, agencies may not be allowed to buy the product.
Shedd also floated the idea of a centralized database of all government spending that uses AI to uncover potential spending cuts.
Tech startups often adopt the “move fast and break things” mindset, but this can have serious consequences when applied to the multi-trillion-dollar federal budget, which funds life-saving medical services and meals for millions of Americans.
A poorly worded spending freeze memo has already spread chaos by temporarily shutting down state Medicaid spending portals. Funding for the Head Start program, which provides childcare and preschool for thousands of low-income children, is reportedly still cut off, despite the memo being rescinded and multiple courts issuing injunctions on the freeze.
While AI can efficiently analyze large datasets, using the technology uncritically to rapidly cut budgets will likely result in deeper reductions to essential and widely supported services, disrupting the lives of many American citizens.
—Philip Athey
Government Oversight
Top government oversight takeaways:
- World governments are slowly clarifying AI regulations, with the EU beginning to implement their AI bill and the U.S. Copyright Office issuing guidance on what AI art will receive protections.
- From executive orders to science advisor picks, the Trump administration is making AI policy one of their main focuses.
- The Trump administration appears to support a more laissez-faire approach to AI policy, but AI doomer Elon Musk has significant influence and may push for stricter regulations or oversight.
Why Trump picked a science adviser who isn’t a scientist: Michael Kratsios, an AI policy expert, was selected as the president’s science advisor, as a sign the administration prioritizes technological leadership over traditional scientific credentials, a move critics say will lead to budget cuts for health and physical sciences. (New York Times)