Overview
- ProPublica reported that the Department of Transportation plans to rely on Google’s Gemini to generate rule text, with President Trump described as very excited about the initiative.
- DOT general counsel Gregory Zerzan told staff the department seeks volume over perfection, saying rules should be “good enough” and that leaders are “flooding the zone.”
- Briefing materials cited goals for Gemini to handle 80 to 90 percent of drafting, produce initial text in about 20 minutes, and advance proposals to OIRA review in roughly 30 days.
- The department has already used AI to draft an unpublished FAA rule, a departure from prior federal uses of AI focused on translation, data analysis, and sorting public comments.
- Current and former staff warned of safety, accuracy, and legal risks, with ex-acting DOT AI chief Mike Horton likening the approach to assigning rulemaking to a high school intern, while Google has promoted Gemini for government and touted DOT’s move to Google Workspace.