BURSTApril 24th, is Take Your Child to Work Day, an occasion on which many federal workers would typically bring their kids into the office. This year, any celebratory mood will likely be dampened by the sweeping layoffs ordered by Elon Musk’s DOGE, which has fired tens of thousands of federal workers, threatened to fire of tens of thousands more, and promised to institute an “AI-first strategy” to replace the laid off employees.
Into this climate, the General Services Administration, now led by the DOGE leader Stephen Ehikian, will be ringing in Take Your Child to Work Day in a novel way: by hosting AI workshops for kids, to show off the technology DOGE is using in its campaign to eliminate their parents’ jobs.
An official email titled “Al Workshop Featured for 2025 Take Your Child to Work Day at 180OF,” was sent out to GSA employees on Tuesday, April 22nd. It announces that, “As a highlight for this year’s event at 1800F we’re providing two special AI workshops which will offer a chance for the children to get a hands-on experience with our new AI bot and how it helps you in your work.” (1800F is the address of GSA headquarters in Washington, DC.)
That “new AI bot” refers to an AI chatbot project, GSAi, that has become a top priority for DOGE officials since they took over the agency two months ago. A GSA employee, who I have granted anonymity because they fear retaliation, tells me that the AI project has become “the biggest goal at GSA now,” as the agency bleeds personnel and hundreds of employees are pushed to take the latest “fork in the road” resignation offer.
For their part, parents working at the GSA find some dark humor in the whole thing. DOGE leadership has been erratic, and rumors of drug use have swirled.
"Most GSA parents seem to be bemused by the notion that they'd want to expose their kids to the environment at 1800F,” the federal worker tells me, “and it's not exactly changing that feeling to know their kids will be pushed to use the very technology GSA leadership claims will replace their parents or their parents' coworkers."
It’s a telling snapshot of the political, technological, and cultural climate in Washington right now—and hosting AI workshops for the children of federal workers currently threatened by DOGE’s AI schemes is either tone deaf or cruel. Either fits the bill.
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