Welcome back to Tech Briefs. Today we’ve got a surreal twist from Washington, courtesy of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Although Musk has said he is “largely exiting his role” at DOGE, WIRED reports that three of his earliest operatives have quietly been converted into full-time government employees. Leading the pack is “Big Balls,” a young Doge who once served as a part-time consultant. Now, Big Balls draws a taxpayer-funded salary, complete with benefits and a federal badge number. According to the article, these moves are part of a broader effort to professionalize Musk’s makeshift bureaucracy—and to reward loyalty with official titles. Whether you see it as a clever bit of performance art or a sign of how tech culture infiltrates our institutions, one thing is clear: when a meme dog can become a government employee, reality has officially entered the twilight zone. That’s it for today’s Tech Briefs. Stay curious!
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