The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, is reportedly planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate federal workers’ job performance and determine potential layoffs, according to a report by NBC News. This comes just days after federal employees were issued an ultimatum to justify their roles by submitting lists of their weekly accomplishments.
While neither Musk, DOGE, nor the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have officially confirmed AI’s involvement, the move has raised fresh concerns about automation’s growing role in critical employment decisions—especially when the stakes involve millions of federal workers.
The Ultimatum: Justify Your Job or Face Termination
Last week, federal employees across multiple agencies received a blunt email directive:
“Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager. Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments. Deadline is this Monday at 11:59 pm EST.”
Musk, who also owns Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), dismissed the request as “utterly trivial,” criticizing employees who didn’t respond:
“The standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send. Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers.”
AI’s Role in DOGE’s Federal Workforce Evaluation
According to reports, DOGE plans to use AI systems to assess the responses from federal employees, with the technology potentially influencing decisions about:
- Job performance evaluations
- Layoff recommendations
- Department restructuring
While AI has been used in hiring and performance assessments in the private sector, this would mark the first major federal effort to use AI at such a large scale for employment decisions.
No official confirmation yet: Despite the reports, neither Musk nor the OPM has publicly addressed whether AI will officially be used in evaluating federal workers’ job performance. Attempts to get a statement from the OPM have gone unanswered.
The Growing Concern Over AI in Employment Decisions
AI’s role in hiring and firing has long been a source of public anxiety. A 2023 Pew Research Center study revealed that:
- 62% of Americans believe AI will have a major impact on workers’ jobs.
- 41% oppose using AI to review job applications.
- The overwhelming majority reject AI’s use in making final hiring or firing decisions.
These fears aren’t hypothetical—AI-related lawsuits are already emerging. In 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued iTutorGroup, a China-based tutoring firm, for using AI algorithms that allegedly discriminated against applicants based on age:
- Women over 55 and men over 60 were automatically rejected.
- The lawsuit was settled in 2023, with iTutorGroup agreeing to pay $365,000 in compensation to over 200 applicants.
This legal precedent could shape future challenges to Musk’s potential use of AI in federal job cuts.
Legal and Ethical Risks for DOGE
Using AI in employment decisions raises several red flags:
- Potential Bias: AI systems can unintentionally reflect biases present in their training data, leading to unfair outcomes for employees.
- Lack of Transparency: AI decision-making processes are often opaque, leaving workers unsure why they were flagged for termination.
- Violation of Federal Protections: Labor unions and federal employees may argue that using AI for layoffs violates existing worker protection laws and due process rights.
Federal employee unions have already begun preparing lawsuits challenging DOGE’s recent mass layoffs, and the introduction of AI could further fuel legal challenges against Musk’s initiative.
Federal Agencies Push Back Against DOGE’s Tactics
Despite Musk’s efforts to streamline the federal workforce, several government agencies are resisting his directive:
- Agencies like the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have instructed employees not to respond to the job justification emails until further guidance is provided.
- Internal legal teams are reviewing whether Musk’s actions violate federal labor laws and workplace protections.
Meanwhile, some federal employees have expressed concerns about the potential for mistakes and wrongful terminations driven by AI assessments.
