The VA Wants to Use AI to Scrutinize Veteran Benefits. What Could Go Wrong?

Summary: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has a new plan to check veteran disability benefits, and it is causing a lot of anger. First, the VA tried to lower benefits if a veteran's medication was working to control their pain or trauma. When people protested, they backed off. Now, following ideas from Project 2025 and President Trump, the VA wants to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to scan medical forms for fraud.

The big problem? The real fraud rate is incredibly tiny—less than 0.01%. AI programs are known to make things up (called "hallucinations"). The AI might flag a veteran's file just because they missed a checkbox, used similar medical words, or saw a specialist who lives more than 100 miles away. Once the computer flags a file, the veteran has to fight an invisible accusation to keep the benefits they earned. Critics say this is just a sneaky way to create a culture of fear, delay care, and wear veterans down so they just give up.

For more details, see Rolling Stone at rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/veterans-affairs-ai-benefits-1235530536/ (opens in new tab)