Trump's plan to redesign every .gov website leads to AI-designed horrors - Ars Technica

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President Donald Trump’s plan to “fill the digital potholes” and use AI to quickly redesign every government website isn’t going very well.

Last August, Trump created the National Design Studio, or NDS, by executive order. A temporary DOGE-like entity that answers only to the president, NDS was tasked with creating new standards to update the US Web Design System (USWDS) and overhaul 27,000 dot-gov websites in just three years. At the end of this so-called “America by Design” initiative, the government’s “design language” would supposedly be more usable and beautiful, Trump expected.

However, that monumental task—assigned to a small team under a short timeframe—was seemingly made harder by DOGE’s deep cuts to agencies previously responsible for improving government websites, including dismantling the 18F technology unit and restructuring the US Digital Service into DOGE.

Those teams knew exactly how hard it can be to get every government agency to adopt new web standards. They had spent years trying to push agencies to update their sites to comply with USWDS standards, yet “only 30 percent of government websites used them as of mid-2023,” NextGov reported. Notably, the USWDS team—which was created in 2015 to ensure government websites were accessible and mobile-friendly—was reduced to one full-time employee after Trump took office.

Most people agree that updating government websites is a worthwhile and necessary endeavor. But about a year into NDS’s existence, the team hasn’t accomplished much.

Its biggest achievement has been modernizing the federal retirement system. However, former government workers have accused the Trump administration of claiming “false victories and overstated credit,” noting that the project was underway before NDS was created.

The group’s other output has been meager, with few launches and substantial backlash from design experts, who argue that the team relies too heavily on AI and has failed to test sites for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. As scrutiny of NDS has intensified, most agencies are now resisting connecting with the team about adopting new web standards, Ars has learned.

Single-page launches, odd redirects

Ars conducted a comprehensive review of launched sites to assess NDS’s progress so far.

Most of the few dozen websites NDS has launched consist of a single page, where visitors can do little more than fill out a sign-up form. The most useful offering may be TrumpRX, which includes a search tool for comparing drug prices. For anything else, visitors must visit a legacy site.

There are also many newly registered domains—like live.gov, onlyfarms.gov, aliens.gov, and why.gov—which currently redirect to legacy sites. Some of those old sites may be updated with NDS’s signature flair, but the ones that don’t look as pretty remain the primary resource for Americans seeking government information or assistance online.

At least one website, 250.gov, which celebrates 250 years of US history, curiously redirects to a dot-org rather than a dot-gov, which is unusual for a government site and could erode visitor trust.

Among the few larger sites that NDS has launched is its own, ndstudio.gov. Currently, that site catalogs the team’s launches, shares a brief timeline of US design achievements, discusses the team’s AI and accessibility efforts, and encourages talented designers to “apply now.”

It also briefly hosted a store marketing a $47 limited edition MAHA poster and a $400 “collector’s edition” with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s autograph, NextGov reported. The store disappeared after the White House faced questions about where the profits from sales would go. A White House spokesperson told NextGov that the posters were never “actually for sale,” as the store’s items did not include a “purchase button.”

The only other site of similar scope is merrychristmas.gov, which, beyond the homepage, includes one page for each of the 12 days of Christmas. An apparent vanity project rather than a government resource, the site is also a celebration of NDS designs and culminates on Christmas with a page praising the group for building sites reflecting “a belief that thoughtful design can strengthen democracy and improve civic life.”

These sites are supposed to “delight” Americans, Joe Gebbia, the Airbnb cofounder serving as Trump’s chief design officer, told NextGov in February. The next month, he...