Lawsuit Exposes Government's Use of ChatGPT to Cancel Humanities Funding
A lawsuit filed in May has uncovered shocking details about how the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) terminated more than 1,400 National Endowment for the Humanities grants. Newly released depositions reveal that DOGE staffers, lacking personal academic experience in the humanities, employed ChatGPT to identify and retroactively cancel funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
How ChatGPT Was Deployed to Target Grants
At DOGE's direction, ChatGPT analyzed the descriptions of all NEH grants, generating a spreadsheet with a "Yes/NO DEI?" column and a corresponding "DEI rationale." This process led to the retroactive cancellation of over $100 million in already appropriated funds and resulted in the firing of 65% of NEH staff. According to plaintiffs, the method violated the Fifth Amendment's equal protection clause by explicitly targeting terms such as "BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)," "homosexual," "LGBTQ," and "Tribal."
Depositions Highlight Confusion and Controversy
In a deposition, DOGE staffer Justin Fox struggled to explain DEI, underscoring the lack of expertise in the process. The lawsuit, brought by organizations including the American Historical Association, Modern Language Association, and American Council of Learned Societies, includes Fox's and his boss Nate Cavanaugh's testimonies, which are publicly available on YouTube.
Examples of Canceled Projects
The grants canceled encompassed a wide range of projects, many unrelated to DEI:
- A documentary about Jewish women's slave labor during the Holocaust.
- An archival project on Italian American lives.
- A digitization effort for photographs of Appalachian residents.
- Multiple initiatives to preserve endangered Native American languages and cultures.
Even routine maintenance grants were affected. For instance, a North Carolina museum lost $349,000 for HVAC replacement because ChatGPT deemed "diverse audiences" might view its collections. Similarly, a joint University of Oregon and University of Nebraska-Lincoln project to digitize newspapers was canceled due to ChatGPT's determination that digital newspapers are "more accessible" and inclusive.
Reactions and Implications
ACLS President Joy Connolly criticized the actions, stating, "DOGE employees' use of ChatGPT to identify 'wasteful' grants is perhaps the biggest advertisement for the need for humanities education, which builds skills in critical thinking." She emphasized that knowledge in history, literature, and the arts is vital for a resilient nation, a principle behind NEH's establishment by Congress.
The case highlights concerns over algorithmic decision-making in government and the potential erosion of humanities funding, sparking debates on equity and due process in public administration.
