Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Poli sci PhD researching all things new media, emerging tech, and democracy.https://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3mczn526pc22tTo mark the anniversary of DOGE, I explore how some of its early activities may have inadvertently undermined efforts to adopt AI into the federal government, despite a goal to use it “to deliver the highly responsive government the American people expect & deserve” https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-doges-modernization-mission-may-have-inadvertently-undermined-federal-ai-adoption/22 Jan 2026 16:45 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3mczn526pc22thttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3mbjuujuppc2x [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Jan 2026 16:56 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbjuujuppc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3m73nhqyzhc2oCompiling a document with links to high quality generative AI use trainings and other resources. Do you know of any good ones that should be included? Please share them here!03 Dec 2025 14:16 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3m73nhqyzhc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3m4qdzkq2u227I am hoping to talk to technologists in (or previously in) & around the federal gov for a project. If that sounds like you & you'd be willing to chat with me about what the federal government gets right & what it can do better, reach out at vwirtschafter@brookings.edu or send me a message here!03 Nov 2025 15:37 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4qdzkq2u227https://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3m4eq4lxdw22hA first sighting in the wild. I guess we’re all rolling with the name Community Notes! Any ideas as to whether this data will be available?30 Oct 2025 00:42 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4eq4lxdw22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3m3dxb4bhlc2hSince the viral Gemini image incident, I've wondered how long it would take for genAI to become politicized. It’s become increasingly clear that moment has arrived—much like it did for social media platforms. Read more from my new @brookings.edu research here: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/is-the-politicization-of-generative-ai-inevitable/16 Oct 2025 23:52 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3dxb4bhlc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3m3dxb4bhlc2hSince the viral Gemini image incident, I've wondered how long it would take for genAI to become politicized. It’s become increasingly clear that moment has arrived—much like it did for social media platforms. Read more from my new @brookings.edu research here: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/is-the-politicization-of-generative-ai-inevitable/16 Oct 2025 23:52 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3dxb4bhlc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lyngb3jll22rThe amount rumors & conspiracies online right now is truly stunning & a clear illustration of the info supply & demand problem during breaking news periods and tragedies, made much worse by major platforms effectively abandoning content moderation & mainstream outlets running with unverified claims.12 Sep 2025 13:58 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyngb3jll22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lxi23gpgtk2pThe problem with this (or goal all along!) is that @anthropic.com’s UI makes it so difficult to know which toggle is on and which is off! https://www.theverge.com/anthropic/767507/anthropic-user-data-consumers-ai-models-training-privacy28 Aug 2025 17:12 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxi23gpgtk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lthru43xbs2cMaybe now they’ll definitely pass….oh nevermind https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/07/08/marco-rubio-ai-imposter-signal/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=threads&utm_medium=social08 Jul 2025 17:04 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lthru43xbs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lsm6kpy5ls2kCome intern with my team and me in the AI and emerging tech initiative @brookings.edu! https://interns-brookings.icims.com/jobs/3690/fall-2025%2c-research-%26-events-internship%2c-ai-and-emerging-technology%2c-executive-office-%28job-id-2025-3690%29/job?mobile=false&width=890&height=1102&bga=true&needsRedirect=false&jan1offset=-300&jun1offset=-24027 Jun 2025 17:37 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsm6kpy5ls2khttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lroqn3ve6c2kSo obviously AI slop with more than 32k likes on Threads…16 Jun 2025 00:40 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lroqn3ve6c2khttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lrdmfmgvc22zA peak inside what the federal government is planning for AI adoption (GitHub link included) https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/10/trump_admin_leak_government_ai_plans/11 Jun 2025 14:25 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrdmfmgvc22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lpmyaiujn22vThe effect of this is so much bigger than Google’s advertising revenue and extends to companies that rely on Google search to drive traffic…which is most of the internet? https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/google-takes-aim-at-ai-firms-challenging-its-search-dominance-917633a0?st=WdMCx4&reflink=article_copyURL_share20 May 2025 21:01 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpmyaiujn22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lmxj3b5uuc2kApple with the brutal AI summary16 Apr 2025 21:13 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmxj3b5uuc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lmxcq7vvbc22Ending rather than expanding this program should tell you all you need to know about the desire to use technology to improve how government functions https://apnews.com/article/irs-direct-file-tax-returns-free-trump-4bb0bca02fab9b3d06ae6f45ac67b7ab16 Apr 2025 19:20 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmxcq7vvbc22https://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3llrtadxtec2dWhat a great way to communicate with voters. I wish more people with policy expertise would do this type of outreach https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/s/VrjemhTbUd01 Apr 2025 21:34 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3llrtadxtec2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3ll4powdzm225Love to see my alma mater @bowdoin-college.bsky.social tackling some of these big questions https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/technology/reed-hastings-bowdoin-ai.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6U4.abwv.HXfCUcVcLC-G&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare24 Mar 2025 12:04 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3ll4powdzm225https://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lktknm66pk2bOne of my favorite assignments I’ve seen is for students to pick a relevant topic or idea on Wikipedia lacking in information and do research to fill it in! https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00715-x20 Mar 2025 20:40 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lktknm66pk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lknyubwtr223This type of error may seem minor but is really detrimental toward lowering the political temperature and working toward some common conception of “truth” [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Mar 2025 15:39 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lknyubwtr223https://bsky.app/profile/vwirtschafter.bsky.social/post/3lkek22op4s2iWe’re hiring a program assistant on the AI and Emerging Tech team @brookings.edu ! Please share with your networks and apply soon if this sounds like a good fit for you! https://careers-brookings.icims.com/jobs/3616/program-assistant-%28job-id%3a-2025-3616%29/job14 Mar 2025 21:19 +0000at://did:plc:2zhmovykwklyni4vktimuduj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkek22op4s2i