Elon Musk is using Artificial Intelligence as a weapon of mass destruction against the American government. “Elon Musk’s DOGE is feeding sensitive federal data into AI to target cuts,” reports the Washington Post, describing it as “part of a broader plan to deploy the technology across the federal government.”

In a must-read essay Eryk Salvaggio describes an “AI Coup” currently underway in Washington. “AI is a technology for manufacturing excuses,” opens his devastating analysis of how artificial intelligence is being weaponized against democracy. While Silicon Valley prophets warn us about AI robots taking over by force, a more insidious coup is already underway: the systematic replacement of democratic decision-making with automated systems, justified by empty promises of efficiency.

At the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk deploys college-age operatives to seize control of federal computer systems. The Trump administration builds keyword blacklists to strangle research into algorithmic bias. And in agency after agency, civil servants who embody institutional knowledge and values are being ousted, perhaps to be replaced by chatbots that can be reprogrammed at will.