DOGE Reportedly Building Custom Chatbot GSAi – Will Elon Musk Replace GSA Staffers With AI?

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is working on a custom generative AI chatbot for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), a new report revealed, raising questions on whether DOGE chief Elon Musk is looking to replace GSA workers with artificial intelligence.

The DOGE team is working fast to develop the AI assistant, dubbed GSAi, WIRED reported late Thursday, citing two people familiar with the project who were granted anonymity as they aren't authorized to speak publicly about the DOGE's operations.

One of the priorities for the initiative is to boost productivity for roughly 12,000 employees with the GSA, a unit tasked with management of office buildings, contracts, and IT infrastructure across the federal government.

DOGE is also hoping that GSAi can be used to analyze huge data around contract and procurement, one source said.

In an audio recording of a Wednesday meeting obtained by WIRED, Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla employee who now leads the GSA's Technology Transformation Services, said he is trying to work on "another" project, which is "a centralized place for contracts so we can run analysis on them," seemingly alluding to the GSAi initiative.

News about the GSAi development raised questions on whether Musk, who has received mixed reactions for his actions as the DOGE chief, will possibly replace government workers with AI.

Musk recommended DOGE's establishment to U.S. President Donald Trump last year, saying it should drastically slash government spending on things he said aren't a good use of taxpayers' money.

In recent days, the DOGE has targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), alleging that its spending on various initiatives was unnecessary. Notably, the USAID has helped provide aid for some of the world's poorest countries.

Meanwhile, the DOGE has been accused of feeding confidential government data into AI tools as it continues to find ways to make huge budget cuts.

DOGE has been met with divided reactions from Americans. Some believe Musk is doing his best to ensure that U.S. taxpayers' money is put to good use, while others believe he is targeting specific agencies based on his own interests.