DOGE Cancelled Museum HVAC Grant Over DEI Concerns Flagged by ChatGPT
The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) drastically reduced National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) funding, cancelling over $100 million in projected grants. This initiative, which utilized ChatGPT to identify projects related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), led to the rejection of numerous proposals. Notably, a $350,000 grant for the High Point Museum’s HVAC system replacement was cancelled after being flagged as “#DEI” by the AI, despite its primary purpose being artifact preservation and energy efficiency. These actions, challenged in court as unconstitutional discrimination, appear to have extended beyond explicit DEI initiatives, even impacting projects deemed “harmless” by NEH officials.
John Q. Hosedrinker