A lawsuit filed last May, after the so-called Department of Government Efficiency terminated more than 1,400 National Endowment for the Humanities grants, has yielded some absolutely wild revelations.

Thanks to newly released depositions related to the suit, we now know that DOGE staffers, who had no personal academic experience in the humanities, used ChatGPT to identify “DEI” — or diversity, equity and inclusion — initiatives and retroactively cancel their funding.

At DOGE’s behest, ChatGPT ingested the descriptions of all of NEH’s grants, then spat out a spreadsheet with a “Yes/NO DEI?” column and its “DEI rationale.”

This ultimately resulted in the retroactive cancellation of more than $100 million in funds that had already been appropriated, along with the firing of 65% of NEH staff.

According to a release from the plaintiffs, the process violated the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection clause because it explicitly targeted the terms “BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color),” “homosexual,” “LGBTQ,” and “Tribal,” among others.

Here’s DOGE staffer Justin Fox flailing as he attempts to explain DEI in a deposition in the case.

A DOGE staffer assigned to the National Endowment for the Humanities to flag grants for "DEI" tries to explain what "DEI" is. This deposition is part of a lawsuit by the @acls1919.bsky.social, @historians.org and @modernlanguage.bsky.social.

In addition to a documentary about Jewish women’s slave labor during the Holocaust, which is mentioned in the above video, DOGE also nixed an archival project on the lives of Italian Americans; a project to digitize photographs of Appalachian residents; and multiple projects to preserve endangered Native American languages and cultures.

Even grants for routine maintenance were canceled.

A museum in North Carolina that had been awarded $349,000 to replace its failing HVAC system had its grant scrapped because ChatGPT decided “diverse audiences” might view its collections.

A joint effort by the University of Oregon and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to help digitize newspapers was similarly canceled because digital newspapers are “more accessible,” and therefore, ChatGPT determined, more inclusive.

Here’s Fox explaining, then retracting his remark that a grant for a documentary about anti-Black violence was canceled “because it was not for the benefit of humankind.”

Absolutely incredible. pic.twitter.com/ucx9CWfd8Y

The American Historical Association, one of the plaintiffs, put Fox’s entire deposition on its YouTube page, in addition to the deposition of Fox’s boss at DOGE, Nate Cavanaugh.

The Modern Language Association and the American Council of Learned Societies are also plaintiffs in the suit.

“The principle that knowledge of history, literature, religion, philosophy, and the arts is necessary to sustain a strong and resilient nation drove Congress to establish the NEH,” ACLS President Joy Connolly said in a statement.

“DOGE employees’ use of ChatGPT to identify ‘wasteful’ grants is perhaps the biggest advertisement for the need for humanities education, which builds skills in critical thinking.”

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