Elon Musk's AI Plan: Evaluating Federal Workers' Jobs

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, is reportedly planning to use artificial intelligence to assess responses from federal employees who were asked to justify their jobs last week. According to a report by NBC News, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management sent an email to federal workers asking them to submit their accomplishments from the previous week.

While no official statement has been made regarding the use of AI to analyze worker responses, Musk took to X on Monday, calling the email request "utterly trivial." He wrote, "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."

The use of AI in hiring and firing decisions is already a reality, with many Americans expressing concerns about the technology being used in workplace assessment. A 2023 study by the Pew Research Center found that 62% of Americans believe AI will have a major impact on job holders, with many rejecting the idea that AI would be used in making final hiring decisions.

Lawsuits against the use of AI in hiring and firing decisions have already been filed in federal court. In 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against China-based tutoring company iTutorGroup for age discrimination. The lawsuit alleged that the company's AI-powered hiring system automatically rejected female applicants over 55 and male applicants over 60, violating U.S. employment laws. The suit was settled in August 2023 after iTutorGroup agreed to pay $365,000 to over 200 job applicants who were rejected due to their age.