President Trump's National Design Studio (NDS) is tasked with redesigning 27,000 .gov websites but has met significant challenges. The initiative, which relies heavily on AI, has faced criticism for lack of progress, compliance issues, and cutbacks to previous digital services.
In August 2022, President Trump established the National Design Studio (NDS) through an executive order. The goal was to modernize 27,000 .gov websites in a three-year initiative named 'America by Design' by creating new standards for the US Web Design System (USWDS).
The task has proven difficult due to significant budget cuts that dismantled previous teams managing government web standards. Notably, the 18F technology unit was affected, along with restructuring of the US Digital Service, which had historically worked on website improvements.
By mid-2023, only 30% of government websites were using the USWDS standards. Critics point out that the NDS has made minimal progress, including only one significant project related to modernizing the federal retirement system, which some claim was already in progress before NDS's formation.
Experts have raised concerns about the NDS's reliance on AI for the redesigns, noting a lack of adequate compliance testing with the Americans with Disabilities Act. As scrutiny of the NDS has increased, many agencies are hesitant to engage with the studio regarding the new standards.
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President Trump's National Design Studio (NDS) is tasked with redesigning 27,000 .gov websites but has met significant challenges. The initiative, which relies heavily on AI, has faced criticism for lack of progress, compliance issues, and cutbacks to previous digital services.