Mr. Musk, Elon, thanks for cutting waste . . . but could you identify what works, too?
The DOGE has exposed opportunities to reduce fraud, failure, and corruption of media. It has also revealed tech’s ethical limitations which could be compounded by automation through AI.
DOGE:
exposes fraud (e.g., fake social security claims)
exposes lack of legislative oversight in the Administrative Procedure Act enacted in 1946 resulting in unelected administrators making law and controlling the “purse” with no performance or financial accountability.
exposes government censorship and propaganda efforts through Newsguard, an online censoring technology, and Internews, a Non-Profit based in California, that “educates” journalists, formerly only in Russia and the Middle East and now also in the West - Matt Taibbi is investigating, suggesting there’s more to this story. What’s more? Internews CEO, Jeanne Bourgault spoke to corporate and government leaders at the World Economic Forum about collaborating to control messaging, influencing or pressuring the largest spending advertising members of the World Advertising Federation members to agree to support legacy media and boycott conservative independent news media (even though it’s not in their best business interest since legacy media audience reach is declining and centrist/conservative independent media subscribers are increasing reach), by joining the Global Advertisers for Responsible Media (GARM). This story isn’t just about USAID funding/wasting money on Internews. This is about USAID funding the influence of advertisers controlling most of the nearly one trillion dollar global ad dollars, essential to the media industry’s viability, since no one pays for news. Recently, GARM has been shutdown and covered up because it could be illegal in the US.
exposes tech’s ethical dilemma - its efficiency comes from being single-mindedly blunt - in this case identifying waste, without identifying and protecting what works.
Discussion
Instead of questioning Administrative law’s lack of accountability or constitutionality as it agencies and departments have come to leverage it since the 1940’s, including DOGE, partisans and (we now know, paid) media pundits, and influencers who legitimize them for money, like Heather Cox Richardson, are arguing that DOGE (and only DOGE) violates the Constitution.
True independent leadership and journalism genuinely analyzes controversies - both the good and the bad, not simplifying complex problems into either/or choices or denying there’s a problem. The longer Partisans and journalists gaslight the issue (while raising money and increasing media profits), we suffer from legislative malpractice.
This alternative would be better
We should be talking about how 1940’s Administrative law might be updated to take advantage of today’s technology to quickly analyze information to detect fraud and preempt bureaucratic abuse, with performance reviews and transparent accountability.
The idealogical objective should be to spend tax dollars more efficiently by delivering services more effectively. The strategy should be to engage every agency and Congress to identify the hurdles we are wasting money on to deliver services effectively.
DOGE could be an independent agency to maintain technology to research and analyze data to raise red flags which must be explained and a solution proposed, and enforce a deadline.
In addition to cutting waste, DOGE should aim to identify and protect what works.
Citizens need to be treated as valued customers. We will know government works when most citizens agree they get what they pay for.