Ministers' Covert AI Use Raises Competence and Ethical Questions in Governance

A recent tweet by Jeffrey Emanuel has sparked discussion regarding the potential use of large language models (LLMs) by government ministers to mask their lack of expertise, particularly in smaller nations where positions might be gained through patronage rather than merit. Emanuel's observation highlights a scenario where officials could leverage advanced AI tools like ChatGPT to gain "pretty good expert advice for free" without revealing their own competence gaps."LLMs like ChatGPT must be a huge boon to incompetent government ministers in small countries that got their positions through nepotism or patronage networks," Emanuel stated in his tweet. He elaborated on the challenges faced by ministers, such as those in mining or central banking, who may lack fundamental knowledge but are tasked with complex negotiations or economic oversight. Historically, these individuals "basically had to 'wing it' and hope for the best," or rely heavily on subordinates or expensive consultants.The proliferation of LLMs offers a new, discreet avenue for such officials. "Now, those ministers can simply open up ChatGPT in the privacy of their office... and get pretty good expert advice for free from a frontier model. All without revealing to anyone that they don’t know what they’re doing," Emanuel noted, suggesting this could be a "good thing" given the world's shortage of accessible expertise. However, he expressed skepticism about whether these users would opt for paid, more advanced models, stating, "I just hope these people are springing for the $200/month subscription and using the GPT-5 Pro model. But I sort of doubt they are."While the tweet posits a specific, somewhat clandestine use case, the broader integration of AI into government operations is a growing area of focus. Research indicates that LLMs are being explored for various official applications, including document management, policy drafting, and enhancing public services. For instance, a study on LLMs in government document management highlighted their potential to improve classification accuracy by 15-30% and user satisfaction in search by 40%. The Carnegie Endowment also suggests AI can "unlock public wisdom and revitalize democratic governance" by analyzing public input at scale, though it cautions against risks like data privacy and bias.The ethical implications of AI use in government are a significant concern. Experts emphasize the need for robust governance frameworks to ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness. Unofficial or covert use, as suggested by Emanuel, could bypass these critical safeguards, leading to decisions based on potentially biased or unverified AI outputs without proper human oversight. The potential for "shadow IT" in government, where unapproved technologies are used, presents risks to data security, regulatory compliance, and public trust.The debate underscores a tension between leveraging AI for efficiency and competence, and ensuring ethical, transparent, and accountable governance. While AI offers powerful tools to augment human capabilities, the context and intent of its application, especially in public service, remain crucial for maintaining integrity and public confidence.