As government agencies seek to streamline and implement artificial intelligence technology into their consumer service portals, the nation's elderly are struggling to adapt, The Washington Post reported.
One of the primary objectives of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative is to eliminate redundancy and update aging digital infrastructure, which includes eliminating support services by phone.
Yet many of the primary beneficiaries of government services have not been brought up using technology. And as a result, they may be slow to receive much-needed assistance.
Innovations such as chatbots, dual authentication, and document uploading are just some of the barriers for seniors who just want to make a good, old-fashioned phone call.
The outlet spoke to Diane Elliot, 70, who feels comfortable using online portals to navigate her Social Security information, but whose 83-year-old sister isn't so tech-savvy.
"For most of her business, even banking, she calls people. That's her preferred method," Elliott said. "She's very with it, but her computer skills are just not up to par.”
Abbie Richie from the Smarter Service, a tech support option for older adults, said the telephone is the most comfortable form of communication for seniors.
"The phone is a lot of times an older adult's lifeline," she said.
"When a website is requiring you to scan your form and upload it, that is like asking for the moon," Richie added.
In March, the Post reported on a litany of problems the Social Security Administration began having soon after DOGE began implanting cuts, which included crashed websites that prevented millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging into their online accounts.
DOGE initially cut 12% of the 57,000-person workforce, leaving the forward-facing customer service aspect of the agency most at risk. Critics argue DOGE was so focused on finding what it considers fraud and abuse that it neglected to consider the ripple effect massive layoffs would have on beneficiaries.
Some Democrats in Congress are urging to DOGE to pump the brakes on forcing rapid change without considering the implications to the public.
Last week, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., the ranking minority member of the Committee on House Oversight and Government Reforms, penned a letter to Michelle Anderson, the inspector general of the Social Security Administration, seeking a response to whistleblower information claiming the changes have thrown the agency into chaos.
"It is my hope that shedding sunlight on the opaque operations of DOGE at SSA will stop further damage to the agency and prevent a potentially calamitous disruption to the benefit payments that serve as a lifeline for more than 70 million Americans," Connolly's letter read.