"NASA has gone from 18 reported AI applications in 2024 to 420 in 2025; the Department of Health and Human Services, overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now reports 398 uses, up from 255 a year ago. The Department of Energy has seen a fourfold increase in AI usage, with a similar jump at the Commerce Department. Agencies were effectively given the green light in April 2025, when the White House announced it was eliminating barriers to AI adoption across the federal government."
""It's not clear using AI for most government tasks is necessary, or preferable to conventional software," cautions Chris Schmitz, a researcher at the Hertie School in Berlin. "The digital infrastructure of the U.S. government, like that of many others, is a deeply suboptimal, dated, path-dependent patchwork of legacy systems, and using AI for 'quick wins' is frequently more of a Band-Aid than a sustainable modernization.""
There were 2,987 uses of AI across the executive branch last year, with hundreds described as “high impact.” Federal agencies sharply increased AI deployments: NASA rose from 18 reported applications in 2024 to 420 in 2025; HHS reports 398 uses, up from 255; the Department of Energy and the Commerce Department each registered multi-fold jumps. The White House removed barriers to AI adoption in April 2025, accelerating agency experiments. Observers warn of bias, hallucinations, and operational risks tied to legacy digital infrastructure. Some experts caution that AI often serves as a Band-Aid rather than sustainable modernization. Others contend careful experimentation can enable smarter government digital transformation.
Read at Fast Company
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