July 01, 2025

Warren, Wyden, Sanders, Gillibrand Demand Answers on “Reckless” AI Tool Rollout at SSA

Reporting revealed AI program delayed Social Security retirement claims processing by 25 percent

“We are concerned that SSA will make even bigger mistakes in incorporating AI into higher-risk tasks, particularly in roles that could jeopardize Americans’ financial security.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to  Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano, demanding answers on the reckless installation of artificial intelligence (AI) into SSA’s phone systems, which have blocked people from accessing their earned Social Security benefits—all while leaving Congress, advocates, and the American people in the dark.  

“This lack of communication from your agency undermines its efforts to improve services by sowing chaos and confusion, which breeds distrust in the agency and its leadership,” wrote the senators.

SSA is rushing to incorporate a new AI tool into its national 1-800 number and the phone systems of 1,200 field offices—without having sought input from advocates, Congress, or the American people. SSA made this rash decision just a month after it was forced to abandon its fraud-detection AI chatbot, which slowed claims processing by 25%—and found that fraud is essentially non-existent. 

The senators emphasized that the Trump administration failed to develop comprehensive AI policies and follow basic IT guidelines. Under previous SSA Commissioner O’Malley, the agency developed policies that would foster Americans’ trust in SSA’s use of AI. 

“As the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the Social Security and SSI programs, we have a responsibility to ensure SSA pays the right benefit amount to the right person at the right time, provides the public with the level of customer service they expect, and is a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars, including overseeing SSA’s development and adoption of emerging technology like AI,” concluded the senators.

To further understand how SSA will change its reckless actions of implementing AI systems without consultation, the senators requested answers to the following questions by July 18, 2025:

  1. Please provide a detailed description of the new AI-based chatbot, including how it determines whether it has successfully answered a caller’s questions before hanging up? 

  2. What metrics is SSA using to determine whether this AI-based chatbot is successful at improving service delivery at the national 1-800 number?

  3. What metrics did SSA use to evaluate the successes or challenges of this AI-based chatbot before rolling it out nationwide to field offices?

  4. What stakeholders, especially those who represent beneficiaries and employees, were consulted pre- and post-deployment of this AI-based chatbot?

  5. Is SSA planning to procure, develop, or implement any new AI systems this year? If so, please list and provide a detailed description of these AI systems, their expected implementation dates, how they are expected to improve service delivery, and what steps SSA will be taking to prevent disruptions to services during the transition. 

 

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