The Trump administration’s eager uptake of artificial intelligence tools — and its allyship with tech companies whose products have been used by repressive governments to quash dissent — has drawn scrutiny in the time since President Donald Trump returned to office.
I’ve written about some of these AI tools already, and outlets like 404 Media and Wired have reported on them in great detail. Now, thanks to federally required disclosures, we all have a better sense of the administration’s eager push to provide AI tools to government agencies, particularly the Department of Homeland Security — that is, the department that is now pushing white supremacist and Nazi propaganda.
Two figures stand out in particular: the total number of AI use cases that DHS is currently exploring, and the corresponding percentage increase since July.
The Department of Homeland Security is actively working on 200-plus artificial intelligence use cases, a nearly 37% increase compared to July 2025, according to its latest AI inventory posted Wednesday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a driving force behind the growth.
ICE added 25 AI use cases since its disclosure last summer, including to process tips, review mobile device data relevant to investigations, confirm identities of individuals via biometric data and detect intentional misidentification. Of the newly added uses at ICE, three are products from Palantir, which has been a notable — and at times controversial — technology partner for the U.S. government under the Trump administration.
Palantir is led by pro-Trump tech bro Alex Karp, who has boasted to investors about his company’s ability to “scare our enemies and, on occasion, kill them.”
Since taking office, Trump has sought to hand unprecedented power to Big Tech oligarchs — many of whom have showered him with money, gifts and gushing praise. Last year, he allowed X owner Elon Musk, his top campaign donor, to gut vital federal programs and agencies, including several that had been investigating Musk-led companies. He also has tried to ban states from regulating AI companies.
And now his administration is rapidly embracing AI tools — including some that can be used to snoop on Americans or store their data for potentially nefarious purposes.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
