President Donald Trump launched America.gov, a new government chatbot designed to help citizens search public services, during a Washington event Tuesday. Dismissing artificial intelligence fears as a hoax, the administration pitched an optimistic vision of tech-powered innovation even as industry leaders grapple with rogue agents, data leaks, and calls for safety oversight.
Launching America.gov in the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
The Trump administration rolled out America.gov on Tuesday inside the gilded Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington. Organizers styled the venue to resemble a high-tech product release stage, complete with projected “Hello, America” logos and staff members handing out cans of La Colombe iced coffee to attendees.
Joe Gebbia, the chief design officer of the United States and the architect behind the platform, described the website on Fox News as a concierge to navigate government.
Gebbia explained that the tool was built through a partnership with Google’s Gemini and SpaceXAI’s Grok.
Don’t think of it as a website, it’s more of a conversation that you start with the government to try to get access to the answers you need.
Initially, the website allows users to search for information across various government platforms, including job postings and files released by the Trump administration regarding UFOs. In the coming months, administrators intend for the chatbot to assist citizens with tasks such as completing passport renewals or enrolling in government programs like Medicare.
Dismissing AI Fears and Labeling Risks a Hoax
The launch arrives during a tense period for the technology sector. In recent weeks, federal agencies and private companies have confronted sophisticated security challenges. Last week, officials disclosed that the federal government fell victim to probing by artificial intelligence agents deployed by ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Concurrently, OpenAI reported that ChatGPT accidentally leaked 53 user-provided images to image-hosting providers, intensifying public anxiety over data security.
While Democrats in Congress have pressed for tighter regulations and industry figures warn of catastrophic outcomes for humanity, President Trump has pushed back against the caution. At Tuesday’s event, Trump referred to artificial intelligence by a new nickname, predicting unprecedented government innovation.
This kind of innovation in government is just a preview of what is possible with super intelligence.
Trump dismissed broader concerns as a hoax, telling the audience, We do not surrender to fears about what technologies will do to us. We decide that those technologies will do for us some very, very incredible things.
Private White House Lunch With Tech Chief Executives
Following the public conference, industry leaders including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang were scheduled to have lunch with the president at the White House. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, also planned to participate in meetings with AI company leaders alongside the president.
Johnson told Fox Business on Monday that his objective for the discussions is to balance national competitiveness with public safety.
Anthropic’s Amodei previously led a push among industry peers this month to slow development paces to prioritize safety protocols, though the proposal has divided executives and has not received endorsement from the White House. Amodei, who previously clashed with the administration over military applications of his firm’s technology, also dined with the president late Sunday for their first one-on-one meeting, ahead of Tuesday’s multi-executive gathering which was also set to include Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
