The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cancelled a $350,000 grant intended to replace a museum’s HVAC system after ChatGPT flagged the project as related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), court documents reveal. The grant was part of broader funding cuts exceeding $100 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) under the Trump administration, representing about half of the agency’s annual budget, according to fortune.com.
Court filings show DOGE employees Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh used ChatGPT to review grant proposals and determine if they pertained to DEI initiatives. A spreadsheet submitted as evidence included prompts asking ChatGPT to classify projects with responses limited to 'Yes' or 'No' regarding DEI relevance. The American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, the Modern Language Association, and the Authors Guild filed a joint motion alleging that DOGE’s actions violated First Amendment rights and the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
The lawsuit argues that cancelling grants based on DEI criteria constitutes discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, and other protected qualities. The cuts to NEH funding and the use of AI tools like ChatGPT to enforce these cuts highlight tensions over government oversight of cultural and educational funding. The case has drawn attention to the implications of using AI in policy enforcement and the legal boundaries of restricting DEI-related projects.
The joint motion was filed earlier this month, challenging DOGE’s authority and the legality of its funding decisions. The court documents and evidence presented are central to ongoing litigation that could influence future government funding policies and the role of AI in administrative decisions.