Interior tests AI lawnmowers on National Mall
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced this week that it is piloting autonomous, AI-controlled lawnmowers on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as part of a broader agency push to scale AI across DOI operations. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s order — obtained by Fox News Digital — directs the agency to adopt AI to "boost operational efficiency," and National Park Service officials said six mowers (funded by a National Park Foundation grant) are being demonstrated at the Mall and in five other national parks.
AI & Tech
Government
🔍 Key Facts
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order (obtained by Fox News Digital) directing DOI to expand AI use in operations and coordination with state and tribal partners.
- Six AI-controlled lawnmowers were demonstrated on the National Mall; the machines carried American flags and included QR codes visitors could scan to view mapping of their progress.
- The pilot is funded in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation; DOI says it is already using AI for wildfire response and environmental reviews.
📍 Contextual Background
- Agentic commerce describes a model in which an app (for example, ChatGPT) acts as a shopper's agent by interacting with both the buyer and the seller while the merchant processes payment and fulfills the order.
- Google will dedicate $22 million of the settlement toward construction of a $200 million Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom in the White House, and the settlement documents state that the Trust for the National Mall is being tapped to finance the renovations.
- OpenAI added an "Instant Checkout" feature to ChatGPT that lets users purchase products mentioned by the chatbot within the chat without leaving the app.
- Debarment is a federal administrative process that can render an entity ineligible to receive federal grants.
- The Instant Checkout technology was co-developed by OpenAI and payment processor Stripe.