While the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is at full speed on the federal level with agency cuts, a state task force focused on Florida universities has left faculty worried about higher education’s future.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the creation of the Florida DOGE on Feb. 24, which will inspect state university operations and use artificial intelligence (AI) to “cut unnecessary spending.”

Steve Lang, the president of USF’s chapter of United Faculty of Florida, said although the governor has been “making noise” about the initiative, it is “almost too early” to understand how it will affect universities.

“Right now, it’s just kind of imaginary,” Lang said. “I don’t think the students or the faculty want anybody to cut back the university system.”

Lang said USF faculty hasn’t received any guidance on how the initiative will assess spending in universities.

“​​If there’s anything going on, they haven’t told us,” Lang said.

USF spokesperson Althea Johnson told the Oracle that USF is reviewing the executive order issued by DeSantis and “awaiting further guidance” from the state.

Related: OPINION: DeSantis’ DOGE Task Force will be a disaster for Florida universities

Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, said there is a “broad concern” among Florida faculty that DOGE is not a “legitimate” efficiency effort.

Jewett said faculty is concerned the government could instead “attack and cut” education.

The uncertainty about DOGE is partly because universities are still waiting for further clarification, he said.

“Will there be, like, an Elon Musk type of character that will show up on every campus with a bunch of associates that will go into everybody’s offices?” Jewett said. “We don’t really know any of that yet.”

Although Elon Musk does not have a cabinet position, the richest man in the world and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has been working as a “senior adviser” for President Donald Trump under DOGE, according to the Associated Press.

Trump created the federal DOGE on Jan. 20, his first day back in office, to oversee federal agencies and determine whether they are spending money “efficiently,” according to the president’s executive order.

The DOGE created teams within each federal agency, such as the Department of Education, the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services, to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure federal agencies,” Trump said in a statement.

As of Feb. 24, the Department of Education’s team had made around $900 million in cuts and had around 40 layoffs, according to AP.

During DeSantis’s press conference about the Florida DOGE, he said the state task force would be “good” for students.

Jewett said this statement made him think the governor isn’t “going after” university programs that help students get their education.

Instead, Jewett said he thinks the initiative will chase administrative programs that are not “directly aimed” at student learning, such as supportive agencies and organizations.

Jewett said he doesn’t think professors are at risk of losing their jobs because they are “frontline positions” for education.

“I would hope that if it’s a legitimate effort to look at the efficiency of Florida, it would not find anything of significance when it comes to cutbacks and faculty,” he said.

Related: Some faculty, students consider leaving state due to DEI legislation

Derek Bambauer is a law professor at the University of Florida and an AI, cybersecurity and internet law researcher.

Bambauer said part of the uncertainty behind DOGE’s efforts comes from the governor’s statement that AI will be used in financial audits.

Although the goal of using AI tools to help with audits “seems sensible,” he said there is an obstacle — AI does not have the ability to look for “unnecessary” spending. 

“My worry is that using AI is a bit of sleight of hand because it disguises a set of value choices about what the government should be doing by making it seem sort of artificial, neutral, technical, and that’s just not the case,” he said.

Bambauer said AI is “wonderfully good” at comparing similar functions in different agencies, such as if one department is paying more for paper towels than the other. 

However, he said it can’t determine what is “unnecessary” because machines can’t identify “value judgements.” 

“If you didn’t want to have a law school, then the budget that gets devoted to the law school would definitely look unnecessary,” Bambauer said. “AI is, in some senses, a tool that reflects the value choices of its designers.”

Related: Professors, students unsure whether AI software is helpful, harmful 

Lang said he does not think examining university budgets for waste or fraud is an issue, and experts could surely “shave” some money from “any institution” the size of USF.

The question for him is how the government will go about doing so and whether it will affect faculty instruction and student learning, he said.

“There are all kinds of nutty things going on in Florida,” Lang said. “ If you want to quit wasting money, don’t start with education.”