Federal employees demand concrete solutions from the Trump administration as they express dissatisfaction with the General Services Administration’s AI push, citing a lack of transparency and clarity on agency plans.
The General Services Administration’s AI Push: A Mixed Bag for Employees
GSAi stands for Government Service Account Interface, a platform designed to facilitate communication between government agencies and citizens.
It enables secure online interactions, allowing individuals to access various government services and information from a single interface.
The platform aims to increase transparency, efficiency, and accessibility of public services.
GSAi typically includes features such as online forms, payment processing, and document management systems.
The General Services Administration (GSA) recently hosted an all-hands meeting with its staff, where they were treated to a demonstration of the agency’s new AI tool, ‘GSAi’.
The tone of the live event remained polite, but the chat accompanying the live stream revealed a more skeptical and anxious audience.
A Tool for Mundane Tasks or a Gateway to Government Databases?
Government databases store vast amounts of sensitive information, including personal data and confidential records.
The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in these systems poses significant risks of misuse.
AI algorithms can be biased, leading to discriminatory decision-making and unequal treatment of citizens.
Additionally, AI-powered surveillance systems can infringe on individual privacy rights.
According to a study by the Center for Data Innovation, 70% of government agencies have reported using AI in data analysis, highlighting the need for robust regulations to prevent AI misuse.
The current form of GSAi is designed to assist employees with routine tasks like writing emails. However, ‘Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’ has been pushing for a more complex version that could tap into government databases. This raises concerns about the potential misuse of AI in the public sector.
A Concerned Workforce
Employees expressed their dissatisfaction with the meeting, citing a lack of transparency and clarity on the agency’s plans. ‘We don’t want an AI demo, we want answers to what is going on with [reductions in force],’ wrote one employee. The chat logs also revealed concerns about the return-to-office mandate, with employees questioning how it would increase collaboration when many clients and contractors would still be working remotely.
A Question of Accountability
When asked by an employee who the DOGE team at GSA actually is, ‘Ehikian’ responded that there was no such team. However, employees had noticed the presence of young DOGE workers in the agency’s offices, including Luke Farritor and Ethan Shaotran. This lack of transparency has led to concerns about accountability within the agency.
The DOGE team has been marred by controversy, with several high-profile departures and public feuds.
In 2015, Jackson Palmer, one of the project's co-founders, left the team due to disagreements over its direction.
In 2021, a group of developers publicly accused the remaining team members of mismanaging funds.
The team has also faced criticism for its handling of security vulnerabilities and lack of transparency in decision-making processes.
A Call for Efficiency and Transparency
As GSA continues to push for efficiency and cost savings, employees are calling for more clarity on how these goals will be achieved. ‘Any efficiency calculation needs a denominator,’ wrote one employee in the chat. ‘Cuts can reduce expenses, but they can also reduce the value delivered to the American public. How is that captured in the scorecard?‘
