The Next Phase in Trump’s War on Social Security: Chatbots

Reporting from Kaiser Health News out this week demonstrates that the Trump administration continues to make it more difficult for people to access the Social Security benefits they have earned.

This time, the villain is a phone chatbot, which is an artificial intelligence (AI) tool. Obviously, it only makes sense for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to use new tools to become more efficient and help beneficiaries access the system. The question is: Does this or any other technology work for beneficiaries? Last month, SSA reported that fully 41% of all calls had been handled by the AI chatbot. There was no data indicating whether beneficiaries were satisfied with the AI chatbot.

This push toward the increased use of AI at SSA should come as no surprise as the agency’s commissioner, Frank Bisignano, is a former Wall Street executive with a background in technology—in particular around payment processing. Bisignano fully admits that he has little background in Social Security. As ABC News reported in May:

Frank Bisignano, a former Wall Street executive, said during a town hall with Social Security managers from around the country on Wednesday that he wasn’t seeking a position in the Trump administration when he received a call about leading the SSA. “So, I get a phone call and it’s about Social Security. And I'm really, I’m really not, I swear I’m not looking for a job,” Bisignano said, according to an audio recording of the meeting obtained by ABC News. “And I’m like, ‘Well, what am I going to do?’ So, I’m Googling Social Security. You know, one of my great skills, I’m one of the great Googlers on the East Coast.”

In theory, the SSA AI chatbot should give beneficiaries prompt and efficient service. Instead, the reporting from Kaiser Health News shows that too many people are getting non-helpful and unrelated responses. The evidence here is certainly anecdotal, but it is nonetheless very significant. Interestingly, the Biden administration was trying to develop an AI chatbot but concluded it was not ready for public usage.

Bisignano’s previous work experience in the financial tech world of payments processing is in some ways like the SSA mission. Obviously, SSA processes millions of payments a month. However, there is a real fundamental difference that must be at the forefront of the discussion: Beneficiaries are far different from customers.

We got a real clear signal as to Bisignano’s state of mind in late June when during a congressional hearing he replied to a Democrat questioning him about staffing levels by saying: “You referred to SSA being on an all-time staffing low; it’s also at an all-time technological high...” Once again, I would argue that technology is a great tool, but it must be used to increase access and build confidence that people will receive the benefits they earned in a timely manner.

SSA has not released any clear statistics about how the AI chatbot is performing. It may not be the best information, but it is worth noting the SSA Facebook page paints a decidedly mixed picture of the AI chatbot.

Concern about SSA’s ability to provide efficient customer service is not limited to congressional Democrats. Back in May, a number of House Republicans sent Commissioner Bisignano a letter saying that:

We commend and support the continued efforts to make our bloated bureaucracy more efficient for the American people. However, we must use caution and consider the impact any changes would have so there are no disruptions in services for our seniors and disabled who depend on the Social Security Administration to receive retirement benefits and supplemental security income.

SSA’s use of an AI chatbot needs to be seen as part of a larger pattern of obfuscation. Consistently, the Trump administration has acted to make it harder for beneficiaries to access their own earned benefits, whether it is through cutting staff or using artificial intelligence. These intentional behaviours drive down satisfaction and confidence in the program.

None of this needs to be that complicated. SSA just needs to focus on meeting the needs of beneficiaries or, as Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts put it, “We should be making it as easy as possible for people to get the Social Security they’ve earned.”