Employees of Elon Muskʼs Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are using artificial intelligence to monitor messages from at least one federal agency — and check for criticism of the US President Donald Trump.
Reuters reports this, citing sources.
Reuters spoke to nearly 20 people familiar with DOGE’s activities and reviewed hundreds of pages of court documents in lawsuits challenging DOGE’s access to data, which it says show unusual use of AI and other technologies by the US federal government.
For example, Trump representatives told some employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that Musk’s team is implementing AI to monitor messages critical of the US president and the head of DOGE. EPA management was told that using artificial intelligence, DOGE is monitoring communication apps and software, including Microsoft Teams, which is often used for work calls and chats.
Trump officials said DOGE would seek out people whose work is not aligned with the “mission of the US administration”.
“Be careful what you say, what you type and what you do,” one source told Reuters.
Additionally, DOGE employees themselves communicate via the Signal messenger. But this may violate official rules, as messages in this app can disappear over time — meaning they are difficult to verify or save.
And, as Reuters writes, the use of Signal and artificial intelligence is causing concern among cybersecurity experts. They fear that Elon Musk and the Trump team could use the data collected by artificial intelligence dishonestly — for example, to promote their own interests or pressure someone for political reasons.
- After Donald Trump became US president, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was launched in Washington under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk. This structure is supposed to increase the efficiency of the American government in a year and a half.
- Elon Musk is likely to step down from his position at DOGE soon. According to Politico, Musk will step down at the same time as his term as a “special civil servant” expires. This status is valid for only 130 days. In Musk’s case, it will end in late May or early June 2025.
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