Elon Musk Associate Develops AI Chatbot for Department of Government Efficiency

Exclusive: Elon Musk staffer created a DOGE AI assistant for making government "less dumb"

A senior Elon Musk staffer has created a custom AI chatbot that purports to help the Department of Government Efficiency eliminate government waste and is powered by Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI, TechCrunch has learned. The chatbot, which is publicly accessible, is hosted on a DOGE-named subdomain on the website of Christopher Stanley, who works as the head of security engineering at SpaceX, as well at the White House. It's not clear if the chatbot is experimental or has been used by DOGE as part of its unprecedented cost-cutting efforts across the U.S. government, which have raised legal and privacy concerns. Stanley and a White House spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The chatbot calls itself the "Department of Government Efficiency AI Assistant" and says it is powered by xAI's Grok 2. The chatbot told TechCrunch it is here to "help government personnel like you identify and eliminate waste, improve efficiency, and streamline processes using a first principles approach." The chatbot appears to be a customized large language model trained on certain key DOGE goals -- especially five "guiding principles," which include making government requirements "less dumb" and deleting "unnecessary parts or processes." For example, when TechCrunch asked the chatbot what DOGE should do about USAID, a federal agency effectively shuttered by DOGE's reforms, it applied the five guiding principles and recommended the elimination of any "bureaucratic layers" between decision makers and USAID fund recipients. The chatbot reverts to these five principles on a wide array of topics. When TechCrunch asked the chatbot which twentieth century political leaders DOGE should emulate, it applied the guiding principles and responded with two people: U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, saying they provide "excellent models for DOGE" by focusing on "efficiency, simplification, and the use of technology." The chatbot suffers from some issues, including one that's common to all large language models: hallucination. When TechCrunch asked the chatbot for names of people who work at DOGE, it initially refused but later gave generic names and made-up positions. The chatbot also sometimes gives odd advice, like recommending that USAID use drones, wearables, and other internet-connected devices to improve its efficiency. DOGE has embraced AI as part of its efforts to modernize the U.S. government, according to reports DOGE is reportedly working on a separate AI chatbot for the General Services Administration, the powerful agency that oversees U.S. procurement, per Wired. It's also not clear if the chatbot's use of xAI presents a conflict of interest for Musk. Since LLMs typically charge users through API usage, government workers using an xAI-powered chatbot could directly increase xAI's revenue. A representative for xAI could not be reached.

Elon Musk aide builds DOGE AI to make government 'less dumb'

The chatbot is hosted on a DOGE-themed subdomain on the website of Christopher Stanley, who serves as head of security engineering at SpaceX and also works at the White House. However, it remains unclear whether the chatbot is experimental or officially integrated into DOGE's cost-cutting measures. The AI assistant introduces itself as the "Department of Government Efficiency AI Assistant" and states that xAI's Grok-2 powers it. It claims its purpose is to "assist government personnel in identifying waste and improving efficiency." According to the news, it appears to be trained on specific DOGE objectives, emphasizing five guiding principles, which focus on making government requirements "less dumb" and removing "unnecessary parts or processes." When asked about the future of USAID, a federal agency affected by DOGE's reforms, the chatbot recommended removing "bureaucratic layers" between decision-makers and funding recipients. The chatbot applies these guiding principles to various topics. For instance, when asked which political leaders DOGE should model itself after, it named former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. It justified these choices by citing their focus on efficiency, simplification, and technological integration.