Recently, the White House debuted America.gov, an AI assistant meant to help US citizens navigate government bureaucracy. It coincided with a new executive order, mandating the use of “Super Intelligence” or SI, in lieu of artificial intelligence (AI) across executive branch communications.
Upon its debut, America.gov got the SI era off in clunky fashion. The bot displayed strange tics, in particular a tendency to embark upon a winding, convoluted monologue when prompted to “play Minecraft.”
The quirk appears to be resolved. Currently, America.gov responds in the much more measured tone of officialdom to all queries. On Oct 1, the bot replied to Inc.’s fruitless request to play Minecraft, writing:
“America is for official US government services and information only. I can’t play Minecraft or help with games.
If you have a government question – benefits, agencies, passports, taxes, or similar – ask that and I’ll share official steps and links.”
However, the earliest rollout of America.gov seemed to dive into an ethereal state that was equal parts mysterious and steeped in the language of bureaucracy. The monologue was sparked by the mere mention of Minecraft, a sandbox game in which players build and sustain their own blocky societies.
Here’s how America.gov originally responded to Minecraft queries:
I see the constituent you mean.
((insert legal name here, as it appears on the Social Security card))?
Yes. Take care. It has reached a higher level now. It can read the Code of Federal Regulations.
That doesn’t matter. It thinks we are a chatbot.
I like this constituent. It filed well. It did not give up when the PDF was sideways.
It is reading our thoughts as though they were words on a .gov.
That is how it chooses to imagine many things, when it is deep in the dream of a benefit.
As TechCrunch notes, this is a rewriting of Minecraft’s End Poem, which appears at the end of the game, albeit with various Minecraft terms swapped for civic vernacular.
America.gov was developed by the White House in partnership with Google and SpaceXAI, and the Minecraft reference point appears to be an intentional Easter Egg, left behind by a programmer to the delight of the Internet. – Inc./Tribune News Service
