"Months before it mysteriously vaporized into thin air, Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency ravaged the National Weather Service, leading to severe staffing shortages. While the Trump administration promised to rehire most of the around 550 lost jobs at the agency last summer, effectively admitting that DOGE had gone too far, the agency's offices across the country are still struggling with many roles that remain unfilled."
"As the Washington Post reports, the National Weather Service was caught posting an AI-generated weather map that hallucinated names for towns in Idaho. NWS via The Washington Post A graphic forecasts "gusty south winds tonight" and shows a map that lays out the names of nonexistent towns, like "Orangeotilld" and "Whata Bod" - an unintentionally hilarious hallucination that sounds more like an old timey dirty joke than an actual place where people live."
"Experts say that the painful blunder could undercut trust in the agency and lead to confusion. It also perfectly highlights the glaring shortcomings of AI tech that continue to lead to similar embarrassing incidents as the Trump administration pushes hard for the tech's adoption by government agencies. Last month, for instance, it hired 1,000 specialists for a "Tech Force" to build AI."
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency triggered large-scale cuts at the National Weather Service, producing severe staffing shortages across offices. The Trump administration pledged to rehire roughly 550 lost positions last summer, but many roles remain unfilled. Remaining staff have increasingly relied on flawed AI tools to produce social-media graphics, resulting in an AI-generated map that hallucinated nonexistent Idaho town names and was subsequently taken down. Experts warn that such errors can erode public trust and cause confusion. The incident underscores shortcomings in AI deployment even as government initiatives accelerate AI adoption and hiring.
Read at Futurism
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