By Steve Benen
Publication Date: 2026-01-13 14:07:00
The Trump administration’s recent track record in artificial intelligence can charitably be described as problematic. One of the first signs of trouble occurred last spring when the White House unveiled the “MAHA Report: Making Our Children Healthy Again,” which cited several scientific studies that didn’t exist after staffers misused AI.
In the months that followed, the serious missteps began to take hold. For example, border guards have been caught abusing ChatGPT. The Food and Drug Administration unveiled an AI tool designed to speed drug approval, but the tool didn’t work. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard used an AI program to determine which documents to release about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a process that apparently did not go well.
But Donald Trump and his team are undeterred and are pushing ahead with the expansion of their AI efforts. NBC News reported:
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (on…