Undergraduate Sought Academic Credit for Government AI Work

Newly released documents from a Freedom of Information Act request show that Christopher Sweet, a University of Chicago undergraduate affiliated with the Department of Government Efficiency, requested college credit for his work at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sweet helped build an AI tool called SweetRex designed to scan federal regulations for potential rescission, and he proposed framing this work as a multi-course independent study. The emails indicate he sought to have the project count toward his degree as graduate-level research.

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The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Democracy Forward, show Sweet's proposed coursework spanned four academic areas, from AI prompt engineering to legislative authority. The materials described his government work as graduate-level research rather than an internship, with a thesis proposal centered on using AI to modernize federal regulations. Langmack, who came from a property technology background with no federal experience, reportedly generated the final course outline using ChatGPT.

Sweet has since graduated from the University of Chicago with an economics degree, though whether the DOGE work satisfied academic requirements remains unclear. Langmack now holds a deregulation AI position at the Office of Management