Adapted by:
Miguel Jorge
WriterJournalist. I've spent more than half of my life writing about technology, science, and culture. Before landing here, I worked at Telefónica, Prisa, Globus Comunicación, Hipertextual, and Gizmodo. I'm part of Webedia's cross-section team.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s time at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may be running out. President Donald Trump granted the world’s richest man an unprecedented mandate to cut inefficiencies in public service, but Musk now faces what could be his defining achievement—or his greatest failure. At stake is a code base dating back to the 1950s, which underpins Social Security benefits for 65 million Americans.
A risky plan. According to Wired, DOGE has embarked on a project to migrate all U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) systems “in months,” replacing COBOL, the programming language in use since the 1950s, with more modern technology such as Java.
The problem. Experts warn that this operation is technically colossal and extremely risky. COBOL supports the SSA’s critical functions, including issuing Social Security numbers and disbursing benefits. A forced, rushed migration could lead to anything from erroneous payments to complete benefit losses without the agency even detecting the flaws.
Musk and the system. The project comes amid growing pressure from the Trump administration on the SSA. Musk has publicly criticized the agency, alleging fraud—such as payments to supposed 150-year-old beneficiaries—without evidence. Experts say such anomalies stem from COBOL’s technical limitations rather than corruption.
Since DOGE took over SSA oversight, the agency has faced budget cuts and worsening service quality, marked by website crashes and long customer service wait times.
Ripple effect. The SSA system contains more than 60 million lines of COBOL code. The U.S. government hasn’t significantly reengineered its core structure, including the MADAM database, since the 1980s.
According to Ars Technica, the system’s architecture is so fragile that any changes without proper safeguards could trigger a domino effect of unpredictable failures, affecting payment calculations, vested rights, and the IT infrastructure supporting the world’s largest social security system.
DOGE and AI systems. Wired reports that the DOGE team managing the project includes young, inexperienced engineers initially tasked with developing identity verification systems and auditing beneficiaries through the controversial “Are You Alive Project.”
Concerns within the SSA center on the lack of solid planning and the proposed use of generative AI to rewrite millions of lines of code within an unrealistic timeframe. Experts warn that even over several years, ensuring new applications can accurately replicate all calculations and business rules accumulated over decades would be nearly impossible.
Beneficiaries in the tightrope. The primary fear isn’t just incorrect payments but the possibility that millions of people could stop receiving their benefits without the system even recognizing the issue. Employees describe the existing infrastructure as “held together with bail wire and duct tape.” A forced, unwarranted migration threatens to destabilize not only the SSA but also a fundamental pillar of the U.S. welfare state.
Speed vs. cost. The decision to impose drastic timelines prioritizing high-profile announcements over reliable results reflects DOGE’s internal logic and the approach of the Trump administration: Proving they can “modernize” in record time, even at the risk of disrupting essential services.
Without a realistic plan and sufficient resources, the SSA migration appears less like responsible modernization and more like a political experiment—one that millions of citizens depend on for their livelihoods.
Image | Gage Skidmore | Walkator (Unsplash)
Related | Elon Musk Laid Off Thousands of Federal Employees. China and Russia Want to Recruit Them as Spies
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