404 Media – The federal government is working on a website and API called “ai.gov” to “accelerate government innovation with AI” that is supposed to launch on July 4 and will include an analytics feature that shows how much a specific government team is using AI, according to an early version of the website and code posted by the General Services Administration on Github. The page is being created by the GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, which is being run by former Tesla engineer Thomas Shedd. Shedd previously told employees that he hopes to AI-ify much of the government. AI.gov appears to be an early step toward pushing AI tools into agencies across the government, code published on Github shows. “Accelerate government innovation with AI,” an early version of the website, which is linked to from the GSA TTS Github, reads. “Three powerful AI tools. One integrated platform.” The early version of the page suggests that its API will integrate with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic products. But code for the API shows they are also working on integrating with Amazon Web Services’ Bedrock and Meta’s LLaMA. The page suggests it will also have an AI-powered chatbot, though it doesn’t explain what it will do. The Github says “launch date – July 4.” Currently, AI.gov redirects to whitehouse.gov. The demo website is linked to from Github (archive here) and is hosted on cloud.gov on what appears to be a staging environment. The text on the page does not show up on other websites, suggesting that it is not generic placeholder text. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency made integrating AI into normal government functions one of its priorities. At GSA’s TTS, Shedd has pushed his team to create AI tools that the rest of the government will be required to use. In February, 404 Media obtained leaked audio from a meeting in which Shedd told his team they would be creating “AI coding agents” that would write software across the entire government, and said he wanted to use AI to analyze government contracts. “We want to start implementing more AI at the agency level and be an example for how other agencies can start leveraging AI … that’s one example of something that we’re looking for people to work on,” Shedd said. “Things like making AI coding agents available for all agencies. One that we’ve been looking at and trying to work on immediately within GSA, but also more broadly, is a centralized place to put contracts so we can run analysis on those contracts.” Government employees we spoke to at the time said the internal reaction to Shedd’s plan was “pretty unanimously negative,” and pointed out numerous ways this could go wrong, which included everything from AI unintentionally introducing security issues or bugs into code or suggesting that critical contracts be killed.”
See also Fast Company: “Government leaders worldwide are talking big about AI transformation. In the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., officials are pushing for AI-first agencies that will revolutionize public services. The vision is compelling: streamlined operations, enhanced citizen services, and unprecedented efficiency gains. But here’s the uncomfortable truth—most government AI projects are destined to fail spectacularly. The numbers tell a sobering story. A recent McKinsey analysis of nearly 3,000 public sector IT projects found that over 80% exceeded their timelines, with nearly half blowing past their budgets. The average cost overrun hit 108%, or three times worse than private sector projects. These aren’t just spreadsheet problems; they’re systemic failures that erode public trust and waste taxpayer dollars…”