Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is allegedly leveraging artificial intelligence to scan communications within at least one U.S. federal agency as part of an effort to uncover dissent against former President Donald Trump and his policies, Reuters wrote, citing two sources familiar with the situation.

Despite DOGE’s cloak of secrecy over its activities, the AI-facilitated surveillance represents a key technological turning point in determining alleged disloyalty among Trump-era federal employees.

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Encrypted Messaging Sparks Legal Concerns

Another source familiar with the activity, who was directly involved, reported that members of DOGE have been employing the encrypted messaging app Signal. Because Signal allows for messages to self-destruct after being sent, such activity would potentially be flouting federal record-keeping laws.

Kathleen Clark, a government ethics specialist at Washington University in St. Louis, stated, “If DOGE is using Signal without archiving all their messages to federal records, then they are violating the law.”

Grok AI Being Used Internally

The report also confirmed that the DOGE team has been “heavily” employing the Grok AI chatbot, built by Musk’s firm X as an alternative to ChatGPT. Although specific uses of Grok are unknown, sources mentioned that it’s being employed in order to augment efforts directed toward reducing the size of the federal government.

Surveillance Reaches EPA and Microsoft Teams

Trump appointees allegedly told Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) managers that Musk’s team was launching AI tools to scan internal messaging. The intention, they asserted, was to identify any Trump- or Musk-hostile language.

“The AI is also going to be used to monitor Microsoft Teams,” a source said in an interview to Reuters. “We have been told they are searching for anti-Trump or anti-Musk rhetoric,” said another source.

Of particular note is that the EPA has experienced widespread personnel and budget reductions since Trump’s inauguration, with almost 600 employees being put on leave and 65% of its funding reportedly being cut.

DOGE Targeting Ideological Misalignment

DOGE is also allegedly flagging federal employees whose work is deemed to be at odds with Trump’s objectives. A manager reportedly advised employees, “Be careful what you say, what you type, what you do.”

Though these advances portend grave implications for privacy, surveillance, and work freedom, TDG did not independently substantiate the accusations presented in the Reuters report.

EPA Reacts to Surveillance Charges

In reply to the accusations, the EPA averred that it is “reviewing AI as a means of further optimising agency operations and administrative efficiencies” but refuted employing it “as it makes personnel decisions jointly with DOGE.” The agency did not forthrightly take up the allegation of AI-aided tracking of employees.

Musk’s Previous Stand on AI in Government

Prior to Trump’s re-election, Elon Musk had openly stated that AI could be employed to replace government workers — something that now seems to be the aim of DOGE’s recent activities.

The revelations have caused outcry from government watchdogs and cybersecurity experts over the lack of transparency and potential misuse of AI for political targeting within federal agencies.