Reading: John Skiles Skinner's Firsthand Account of DOGE's AI Replacement for Government
This blog post by former government insider John Skiles Skinner shares an alarming firsthand account of the rushed rollout of a barely functional AI system by DOGE across public agencies.
From Skinner's observations, this push seems intended to replace government employees with an AI system to bypass essential oversight mechanisms, reducing necessary human involvement. He notes that AI's role in automating government contracting processes could lead to unchecked spending and a loss of regulatory control, posing direct risks to democratic integrity. Absurdly, DOGE and figures like Stephen Ehikian believe it'll outperform seasoned professionals, while the fired public servants see it as inadequate even as a simple support tool.
Skinner also identifies this development as driven by a literal cult ideology (that I've personally experienced—they're even scarier than Skinner makes them sound). While this account doesn't specify all their beliefs, their aim is essentially to dismantle the US government and democracy in favor of a "Network State" vision of colonization led by wealthy CEOs and venture capitalists like Musk and Thiel. They're fixated on a speculative future in space, willfully ignoring critical issues like climate change while embracing eugenicist ideals for their techno-utopian fantasies.
Think pieces and journalistic analysis about DOGE are one thing, but as a firsthand account, this is a critical read.
