A group of Trump administration officials has just accused Elon Musk and his team of technologists of mass surveillance to sift out and silence any dissenting views against Trump and his administration within the bureaucracy.
According to the whistleblowers, the DOGE team has been using AI to identify expressions of perceived disloyalty within the workforce and firing them under the guise of cost cutting.
The whistleblowers also revealed that DOGE often sift through messages in communication apps such as Signal using the Grok AI chatbot to detect language that might be hostile towards Elon Musk or President Trump. This unprecedented use of technology has raised ethical and legal concerns, sparking debates about transparency and government overreach.
Federal employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were also told by Trump appointees that their internal communications such as Microsoft Teams-which is widely used for virtual calls and chats-might be monitored using artificial intelligence.
One source revealed
"We had been told they are looking for anti-Trump or anti-Musk language."
Employees were reportedly warned to "Be careful what you say, what you type and what you do," with clear implication that digital communications could be scrutinized for ideological alignment with the administration's priorities.
While serving as a special government employee, Elon Musk is bound by federal ethics laws that restrict him from participating in governmental decisions that could personally benefit his private enterprises.
However, critics argue that his close ties to federal infrastructure—coupled with DOGE’s significant influence over digital platforms—pose a serious conflict of interest.
Concerns are further amplified by the uncertainty surrounding DOGE’s leadership structure and its lack of transparent communication. This ambiguity has drawn scrutiny from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, raising bipartisan alarms.
Although the initiative has been framed as a cost-cutting measure to streamline government operations and reduce waste, the secrecy, strategic personnel removals, and opaque deployment of AI tools have triggered fears of political bias and potential suppression of dissent.