On its first day, the White House’s new AI chatbot causes embarrassing troubles for Trump

The White House has rolled out an AI chatbot at America.gov, intended to steer the public toward federal services, and on day one it produced answers that clash with claims Donald Trump makes. At the unveiling, Trump said the tool would help scout leaders, seniors choosing Medicare plans and veterans seeking benefits, calling it "damn good." MS NOW's Steve Benen reports the service was promoted as running, though the administration later acknowledged it will not be fully operational until next year, and Trump allowed that hackers might breach it.

According to its responses, Americans rather than foreign companies bear the cost of Trump's tariffs, elections are generally safe and secure, and prosecuted voter fraud is "tiny" next to the hundreds of millions of votes cast. It said Trump is wrong that 25 million immigrants crossed the border illegally under Joe Biden, and that consumer prices are not falling. Drawing on Congressional Budget Office estimates, it said the president's signature domestic law, enacted last year, would add trillions to the national debt and leave more than 10 million people without health insurance. Journalist Helen Kennedy documented more: according to the bot, taxpayer money cannot fund campaign ads, Trump is named in the Epstein files, and he lacks legal authority to demolish the East Wing or rename the Kennedy Center, while a "triumphal" arch would need congressional approval.

As Trump spoke, the site began altering replies; asked about the 2020 election, it said it could not answer "political questions."

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →