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artificial intelligence
DOGE Is Reportedly Spying on Federal Workers With AI Technology
"We have been told they are looking for anti-Trump or anti-Musk language," an anonymous source said of potential surveillance at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Apr 10, 2025
Staff with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fear that billionaire and presidential adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is spying on them using artificial intelligence, according to reporting from Reuters, The Guardian, and Crooked Media's newsletter What a Day.
According to Reutersreporting published Tuesday, Trump administration officials told some managers at the EPA that DOGE is rolling out AI to monitor for communications that may be perceived as hostile to U.S. President Donald Trump or Musk, citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation.
According to those two sources, who relayed comments made by Trump-appointed officials in posts at the EPA, DOGE was using AI to monitor communication apps such as Microsoft Teams. "Be careful what you say, what you type, and what you do," an EPA manager said, according to one of the sources.
"We have been told they are looking for anti-Trump or anti-Musk language," a third source told Reuters.
The outlet, however, could not independently confirm whether AI was being implemented.
After the story was published, the EPA told Reuters in a statement that it was "looking at AI to better optimize agency functions and administrative efficiencies." However, the agency said it was not using AI "as it makes personnel decisions in concert with DOGE." The EPA also did not directly address whether it was using AI to snoop on employees.
In response to Reuters' reporting, the government accountability group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wrote on X, "Let's be clear: the career civil servants who work in the government serve the American people, not Donald Trump."
According to Thursday reporting from The Guardian and Reuters, EPA managers told employees during a Wednesday morning meeting that DOGE is "using AI to scan through agency communications to find any anti-Musk, anti-Doge, or anti-Trump statements," according to an employee who was quoted anonymously.
Since returning to power, Trump has launched an all-out assault on environmental protection, including through cuts to programs and personnel at the EPA. According to The New York Times, the EPA has already undergone a 3% staff reduction so far, but the agency also plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, which would mean dismissing as many as 1,155 scientists, according to reporting from last month. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has also said he would like to cut 65% of the agency's budget.
The Guardian and What a Day also reviewed an email from a manager at the Association of Clean Water Administrators, a group of state and interstate bodies that works with the EPA on water quality and management, which warned workers that meetings with EPA employees might be monitored by AI.
"We recently learned that all EPA phones (landline/mobile), all Teams/Zoom virtual meetings, and calendar entries are being transcribed/monitored," the email states. The recorded information is then fed into an "AI tool" which analyzes and scrutinizes what has been recorded. "I do not know if DOGE is doing the analysis or … the agency itself," according to the author of the email, per The Guardian and What a Day.
The EPA denied that it's recording meetings, but it did not address the question of an AI tool, according to the outlets.
According to The Guardian and What a Day, employees at other agencies also fear they are being surveilled. For example, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official warned employees that virtual meetings are being recorded in secret, according to an email reviewed by the two outlets. In February, managers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned some workers to be careful about what they say on calls, per an employee there.
"It's like being in a horror film where you know something out there [wants] to kill you but you never know when or how or who it is," one anonymously quoted employee from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development told The Guardian and What a Day, evoking the climate of fear that is rife among government workers.
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'Microsoft Powers This Genocide': Firm Fires Pro-Palestine Disruptors of 50th Anniversary Celebration
"I did not sign up to write code that violates human rights," wrote one protester in an email to Microsoft executives.
Apr 08, 2025
The tech giant Microsoft has fired two software engineers who publicly protested the firm's ties to the Israeli military during an event celebrating the company's 50th anniversary celebration on Friday.
The protests come a few months after the publication of an investigation by The Associated Press which found that Israel's use of Microsoft and OpenAI technology "skyrocketed" following Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which prompted Israel's deadly campaign on the Gaza Strip. Multiple human rights groups have said Israel is guilty of committing genocide or "acts of genocide."
Specifically, the investigation found that artificial intelligence "models from Microsoft and OpenAI had been used as part of an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during the recent wars in Gaza and Lebanon."
According to the AP, on Friday, while Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman was giving a livestreamed talk at Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington, a software engineer based in Canada, Ibtihal Aboussad, walked up toward the stage and shouted, "You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military."
"Fifty-thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region," Aboussad said.
Suleyman was forced to pause the speech and responded by thanking Aboussad for her protest and saying, "I hear you."
Aboussad said that "all of Microsoft has blood on its hands," as she was being led out of the room. "How dare you celebrate when Microsoft is killing children," Aboussad yelled.
According to CNBC, Aboussad then sent an email to Suleyman and other Microsoft executives, including the company's CEO and president.
"I spoke up today because after learning that my org was powering the genocide of my people in Palestine, I saw no other moral choice," she wrote in her email, according to the outlet. "This is especially true when I've witnessed how Microsoft has tried to quell and suppress any dissent from my coworkers who tried to raise this issue."
"I did not sign up to write code that violates human rights," she also wrote.
According to a document reviewed by CNBC, Aboussad was fired Monday due to "just cause, willful misconduct, disobedience, or willful neglect of duty."
Another protester, Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal, interrupted a later session that featured Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Agrawal made similar statements to Aboussad, including referencing the death toll in Gaza, while being hurried toward the exit.
Both Agrawal and Aboussad are associated with No Azure for Apartheid, a group of Microsoft employees who denounce the firm's Azure contracts and partnerships with the Israeli military and government, according to The Verge. Azure is the company's cloud computing platform that offers AI services.
According to CNBC, Agrawal also sent an email to company executives afterward. "You may have seen me stand up earlier today to call out Satya during his speech at the Microsoft 50th anniversary," Agrawal wrote. "Over the past 1.5 years, I've grown more aware of Microsoft's growing role in the military-industrial complex."
Agrawal wrote that the tech company is "complicit" as a "digital weapons manufacturer that powers surveillance, apartheid, and genocide." She also said that "by working for this company, we are all complicit," according to CNBC.
Agrawal put in notice prior to her protest that April 11 would be her last day with Microsoft, but on Monday she learned that her termination would be effective immediately.
"We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard," Microsoft said in statement Friday, according to the AP. "Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards."
Organizers at the BDS National Committee recently toldDrop Site that it will make Microsoft a priority target to pressure the company to end its support for Israel's campaign, following reporting about the Israeli military's use of Microsoft's AI and cloud services.
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The Dems Need a Clear Vision to Move Themselves—and the Country—Forward
A just transition for fossil fuel workers, a pro-worker AI strategy, and a pragmatic approach to global security could be the cornerstones of a compelling Democratic message.
Mar 23, 2025
People continue to observe that the political parties have at best a very limited if any vision or a frightening one at worst.
There are many things that people are worried about, but three issues sit in the back of voters’ minds—issues that will inevitably come to the fore and produce anxiety in the electorate. The first is the future of energy and the jobs tied to it. Many working-class Americans rely on fossil fuel jobs to support their families. They hear talk of green energy but wonder: What happens to us?
The term “just transition” is often used to address this concern, and experts like Jillian Neuberger and Devashree Saha, in their April 5, 2021, publication, have provided a roadmap for how it could be implemented. A just transition ensures that workers in fossil fuel industries are not left behind in the shift to renewable energy; rather, they are retrained and given new opportunities in clean energy sectors. This is a crucial conversation, but the Republicans continue to be in denial and the Democrats have not adequately articulated the idea to the public. Instead, they are allowing the perception to fester that climate action simply means job losses, without presenting a compelling case for how workers will be protected. The party needs to make it clear: Climate action does not mean economic devastation. Instead, it can be an opportunity to build a new, sustainable economy that works for everyone. But to do this, they need to communicate a clear vision—something they are failing to do.
The last presidential election sent a clear message: Americans are primarily concerned about their work, their financial security, and the future of their families.
Another widespread concern is the rise of artificial intelligence and its impact on jobs. Workers fear automation and AI replacing their livelihoods. This concern is not unfounded; many industries are already seeing jobs being replaced by machines and algorithms. Yet, there are solutions that could make AI work for, rather than against, the American worker. Economists Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, and Simon Johnson have written extensively about “pro-worker AI,” a model that emphasizes using artificial intelligence to complement human labor rather than replace it. The industries that stand to benefit the most from this approach include education and healthcare—sectors where AI can be leveraged to assist, not replace, workers. In education, AI can provide personalized tutoring, help automate administrative tasks, and free teachers to focus more on student engagement and critical thinking. In healthcare, AI can aid doctors in diagnosing diseases more accurately, reduce paperwork for nurses, and streamline hospital operations, improving patient care without eliminating human oversight.
The Democrats should be leading on policies that ensure AI serves as an enhancement rather than a replacement for human workers. One way to accomplish this is through tax-code changes that incentivize hiring human labor over automation. Right now, businesses can often save money by replacing workers with machines because tax structures favor capital investment over labor costs. Changing this dynamic could encourage companies to keep employees in meaningful roles while integrating AI in a way that boosts productivity without sacrificing jobs. Additionally, as AI increasingly touches all aspects of government—from infrastructure planning to national security—there is an urgent need for AI expertise within federal agencies. Without knowledgeable oversight, policymakers risk falling behind in regulating AI’s impact, leaving critical decisions to private companies whose priorities may not align with the public good. A forward-thinking Democratic vision should prioritize hiring AI specialists within government to ensure that technology is developed and deployed responsibly.
Beyond domestic concerns, global instability is another major source of anxiety. Nine nations now have nuclear weapons, and the U.S. and Russia hold 90% of them. Meanwhile, China is currently on course to gain parity with the Big Two. This reality makes the threat of nuclear war or catastrophic accidents an ever-present concern. President Donald Trump recently questioned why the U.S. is spending exorbitantly on nuclear weapons, stating, “We have so many, so many, and we can’t use them.” (Reuters, February 13, 2025, Andrea Shalal and Steve Holland). This time, rather than opposing him reflexively, the Democrats should agree—and hold him to his words. Russia and China have already expressed willingness to engage in nuclear arms limitation talks. Instead of dismissing Trump’s remarks, Democrats should demand that he take the next step and follow through on negotiations. There is now a real pathway to reducing nuclear arsenals, and the Democrats should ensure that Trump and the GOP are held accountable for making it happen.
The last presidential election sent a clear message: Americans are primarily concerned about their work, their financial security, and the future of their families. While other issues matter, the fundamental well-being of the working and middle class remains the dominant force shaping electoral outcomes. If the Democrats fail to articulate a vision that speaks directly to these concerns, they will continue to be distrusted by many of the people they claim to champion.
There are answers to these challenges. A just transition for fossil fuel workers, a pro-worker AI strategy, and a pragmatic approach to global security could be the cornerstones of a compelling Democratic vision. But the party needs to do more than just hold these ideas in policy papers and academic discussions. They need to articulate them forcefully, repeatedly, and in a way that resonates with the American people.
If you don’t have a vision, you’re not going to get anywhere. Right now, the Democrats seem to be standing still. The question is: When will they start moving?
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