In May, the Social Security Administration (SSA) officially appointed Frank Bisignano, the former CEO of Fiserv, as its new commissioner. Bisignano had previously been nominated for the role by President Donald Trump himself in January.
Since his appointment to the role of commissioner of the SSA, Bisignano has shared his desire to make the agency a “digital first organization”.
As such, in pursuit of improving the agency and increasing digitization, AI-driven customer tools were implemented at the SSA. The adoption of these AI tools then sparked criticism from a group of senators, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who then wrote Commissioner Bisignano a letter voicing their concerns. Here is what you need to know.
AI tools at the Social Security Administration sparks controversy
The Social Security program provides some 72 million vulnerable Americans with an income on a monthly basis. As such, it is of utmost importance for this cohort to be able to access or speak with the SSA regarding their benefits or other queries without hindrance when required.
Recent changes to the systems in use at the agency, however, have now sparked major concern from advocacy groups, lawmakers, and other officials. These critics are now warning that beneficiaries could potentially see delays with their benefit payments as a result of the new technology and other changes.
The main points of contention with the lawmakers appears to be the integration of AI tools at the agency, along with the closure of field offices and employee cutbacks that had been enacted by the Department of Government Efficiency (formerly headed by Elon Musk) at the beginning of the year.
Subsequently, a letter demanding clarification regarding the “reckless AI rollouts” was sent to Commissioner Bisignano from a group of senators including, Ron Wyden (Oregon Democrat), Bernie Sanders (independent from Vermont), Kirsten Gillibrand (New York Democrat), and Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts Democrat).
“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.
If SSA cannot learn from its mistakes in incorporating AI into basic telephone services for beneficiaries, 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,” the senators wrote.
The letter further requested a complete outline of the AI system with a response deadline for July 18th.
The senators’ concluded their letter with the following: “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.”
Commissioner Bisignano’s response
Following the senators’ letter, Bisignano issued a response in defense of the recent changes at the agency on Monday which had been shared with Fox Business. According to Bisignano, the agency is “experiencing a customer service turnaround after four years of long wait times and record backlogs under the Biden administration.”
Directed to Sen. Warren, Bisignano wrote the following: “While I welcome your recent interest in customer service at SSA and the myriad of correspondences you sent my predecessor and me since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, I’m struck by how little you corresponded with the agency to express concern about deteriorating customer service during the previous administration.”
“Across all of our service indicators, the evidence is clear: better management is improving the customer experience on the phones, in the field offices, and online. Nothing in the data supports the irresponsible allegations of mismanagement and a customer service crisis at SSA,” Bisignano further noted in his letter.