Attracting technical talent into state and local government is a good thing, especially after the destruction of #USDS and #18F, but… volunteer? C’mon, #Virginia.
The proposal allocates nearly half a million dollars to go to an advisory board and the cops to collect biometric data on volunteers. 🤦🏻♂️
"The value of tech expertise in #government is real. That’s why #USDS and #18F existed and succeeded for over a decade.
This isn’t that…They gutted the #institutionalknowledge, fired the people who knew how to do this right, and replaced it with a system where people from private companies get guaranteed access to government data and decision-making through employees who are explicitly planning to return to those same companies." @mmasnick.bsky.social
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/12/23/trump-admin-reinvents-us-digital-services-program-after-elon-musk-fired-all-their-actual-tech-experts/
Trump Admin Reinvents US Digital Services Program After Elon Musk Fired All Their Actual Tech Experts
@exkclamation I've been thinking about it all day tbh because there's something really odd about this. The right have been OBSESSED with destroying #18F in particular this year. At the beginning of Elon's tenure in DOGE (february 2025), he tweeted he "deleted" this entire agency, which wasn't true. It shows this was top of mind for grifters/right wingers... but why? https://apnews.com/article/irs-direct-file-musk-18f-6a4dc35a92f9f29c310721af53f58b16
Sometimes don’t look back through your notes. 😳😬😭 #FLOSS #18F #PrimeDirective #aisafety
MADA?
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/improving-our-nation-through-better-design/
cc @scott@typetura.social #LeniRiefenstahl #18F #UX #UI #ServiceDesign
