Trump brings the federal government into the 21st century with an AI portal

 by Andrea Widburg

Few things in life are more unpleasantly inconvenient than dealing with the federal government. Whether you’re trying to figure out how to get something done or actually doing it, the federal government is remarkably opaque. Until now, its websites haven’t helped much. As anyone who has dealt with Obamacare knows, government websites can be cluttered, confusing, obstinate, and frustrating.

However, the Trump administration finally seems to be changing that through its work with a tech startup, Nation Design Studio. This is no Obamacare. Instead, it's proof that AI can and should serve the people, rather than being seen as a threat to destroy the world.

In a professional presentation with the polish of a corporate product unveiling, Secretary of State Marco Rubio demonstrates how the government’s new one-stop AI interface can be used to get a passport from the comfort of your own home. Having recently renewed my passport, I watched with more than casual interest.

My own experience was inordinately inconvenient. I went to my local drugstore last year and stood in line for 30 minutes while the clerk assisted a man who, tragically, was getting photos for his wife’s memorial service. I had a nice conversation with him about what a lovely woman his wife had been.

When it was finally my turn, the clerk took my passport photo according to what had seemingly been the standard forever: a headshot. I went home and uploaded it—I could at least renew online because I already had a passport—only to discover that the standard had changed. The photo also had to include my shoulders.

So back I went to the drugstore. The nice clerk took another photo. It was awful, but by then I didn’t care. I was not going through this over and over again.

I now possess the world’s ugliest passport photo, and will be stuck with it for almost a decade.

According to Rubio’s presentation, you shouldn’t have to go through any of this anymore. Instead, you’ll go online using your already-issued government ID, which most of us probably have by now, and the process will be seamless and easy, whether you’re applying, getting your photo, or paying for the finished passport.

The tweet below includes the video and an analysis explaining why it matters. One important point is that the technology is transparent, allowing tech people to examine it and determine whether the government is doing only what it says it is doing. There should be no mysterious behind-the-scenes games:

...government, if it works as promised, there won't be a single American who can't say their life wasn't helped at least in part by AI, or that the benefits accrued solely to zillionaires. This in itself cannily mitigates anti-datacenter sentiment.

(2) Second, Joe Gebbia and Marco Rubio's talks on simplifying name changes and passport filings introduce a completely new era where the US government is actually launching tangible features that benefit users.

 

(3) Third, this launch event in and of itself may visibly drive reform. It could become much more important than the State of the Union. Unlike laws, code is user-visible, and can be instantly audited by the public, as Obama found out with the failed obamacare website launch. So: the annual America dot gov event may be substance, whereas SOTU is traditionally optics. I wouldn't be surprised to see the President present at the next one.

(4) Fourth, this kind of event is a perfect example of where tech and red cooperate best. They both hate bureaucracy. Automating paperwork with code reduces the power of statists over both capitalists and nationalists. It's also hard to undo by other admins: once you digitize a process, hard to turn it back to paper.

(5) Fifth, it's an obvious point perhaps, but think about how much influence YCombinator has had in 20 years. From Gebbia's Airbnb joining their 2009 batch to a complete overhaul of the user interface of the US bureaucracy, and thus the US government.

(6) Sixth, this is another take on the network state. The functional part of the US (the network, meaning tech) is merging with and partially reforming the dysfunctional part (the state, meaning bureaucracy) by automating 20th century paper forms.

As a tech startup, there will no doubt be bugs and user issues and so on, but unlike with paper laws those issues will be visible and the code fixes will be verifiable. A new era of AI America. Rooting for them.

This represents an extraordinary level of government competence—or, perhaps more accurately, the kind of ordinary competence that should not seem extraordinary.

This is what government can and should do in the 21st century. Technology should make dealing with government easier, faster, and less frustrating. It should not reproduce bureaucracy in digital form.

Check out the site for yourself. If you’ve been planning to do anything with the federal government, doodle around a bit and see whether it’s easier today than it was yesterday.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/09/trump-brings-the-federal-government-into-the-21st-century-with-an-ai-portal/