Tech leaders sound alarm over DOGE’s AI firings, impact on American talent pipeline

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) keeps firing AI researchers — and it’s making the tech industry increasingly nervous about the American AI talent pipeline. 

On March 3, the long-rumored cuts to staff at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) finally landed. Multiple sources reported that 73 probationary employees were fired, many of whom worked on the CHIPS for America initiative, as anticipated. The CHIPS Act aims to ramp up chip development in the US. 

Also: OpenAI wants to trade gov’t access to AI models for fewer regulations

The firings follow related cuts at the National Science Foundation, where 170 employees working on AI-related projects were let go, though Axios reported NSF has reinstated 84 of those staffers. 

Last week, advocates and tech leaders responded to the firings with an open letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. The letter pointed out that NIST’s focus on AI was initiated during Trump’s first term and urged the administration to consider the consequences of DOGE’s rapid cuts. 

“We emphasize that NIST’s work represents a high-value investment that directly contributes to US economic growth,
competitiveness, and technological leadership,” the letter states. “We caution that downsizing NIST or eliminating
these initiatives will have ramifications for the ability of the American AI industry to continue to lead globally.”

Also: Anthropic quietly scrubs Biden-era responsible AI commitment from its website

The letter’s cosigners — which include the Software & Information Industry Association, Americans for Responsible Innovation, the Center for AI Policy, Internet Infrastructure Coalition, and TechNet, among others — also offer their expertise to fill the Trump administration’s AI policy vacuum. 

“Stakeholders across industry, academia, and civil society stand ready to work with you in shaping this vision, ensuring that the US remains at the forefront of technology advancements while maintaining safeguards against emerging threats,” they said. 

That the letter reiterates the need for “safeguards” is notable. The Trump administration has deprioritized AI safety and responsibility on several fronts in the name of faster innovation. On Friday, Wired reported that NIST had issued new guidelines for scientists partnering with the US AI Safety Institute — the fate of which is still unclear — which now lack mentions of “AI safety,” “responsible AI,” and “AI fairness.” 

Instead, the instructions now emphasize “reducing ideological bias,” a phrase that also appeared in Trump’s executive order reversing Biden-era AI policies that focused on reducing AI bias, discrimination, and other harms. Specifically, the order called for AI systems that are “free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas.” Terms including “safety,” “consumer,” “data,” and “privacy” don’t appear at all.

Also: Google is in trouble but this could change everything – and no, it’s not AI

Jason Corso, a robotics and computer science professor at the University of Michigan, notes that NIST’s new directive “creates a false dichotomy between innovation and responsibility.”

“Removing safety precautions doesn’t foster innovation,” he adds. “By complete contrast, it undermines it by eroding the public trust essential for widespread AI adoption. The history of technological advancement shows repeatedly that safety and progress are not competing forces but complementary ones.”