The Federal government’s central human resources agency said Wednesday it will deploy artificial intelligence tech to help clean up Federal employee records within its personnel record system.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said in a memo published April 9 that beginning this year, it will use AI to analyze and verify the accuracy of data on Federal workers contained within the electronic Official Personnel Folder system (eOPF). The electronic system also maintains records for non-Federal employees managed by Federal agencies.
The move marks a significant step in the Federal government’s use of the technology in accessing sensitive personally identifiable information, which has previously left some concerned about the security of that access.
“The OPF contains records the Government needs to make accurate employment decisions throughout an individual’s Federal career,” reads the memo.
AI use will occur within a controlled environment, according to OPM, which said that the systems being used will have attained Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) High authorization and will be executed by “approved OPM officials or qualified federal government contractors.”
“Before any AI is deployed in the system, comprehensive audit checks will be conducted to verify the accuracy of any work performed,” OPM said. “In addition, federal employees will be promptly notified by email of any changes to their records in the OPF that result in the issuance of a corrected form.”
The move to use AI on personnel records follows numerous suits against the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which according to reports was given access to sensitive agency data which it then fed into AI systems. The White House has generally remained quiet about its use of AI in Federal data access, despite pressure from Democrats in Congress to disclose more about the technology’s use.
President Donald Trump has also made pushes to accelerate AI innovation as he signed two executive orders intended to boost AI innovation and energy sources to fuel AI power demands. Trump also rolled back a Biden-era order which implemented more cautionary guidelines in Federal agency’s use of AI, instead favoring looser regulations in what he called an attempt to avoid stifling innovation.
First reported by Fox News, the White House said OPM’s planned use of AI on personnel records “will usher in historic efficiency” at OPM.
Security and audit mechanisms adopted by OPM will also allow OPM IT staff to query the database and audit logs “to detect trends/outliers associated with bad actor activity,” according to the memo.