Editorial illustration for HHS employs Palantir AI to audit grants for DEI and gender‑ideology compliance
HHS Uses Palantir AI to Audit DEI Grant Compliance
Palantir’s AI is now the gatekeeper for federal grants on child welfare. Since March, the Department of Health and Human Services has quietly used the company’s software to audit job descriptions and grant applications for any trace of diversity, equity, inclusion, or “gender ideology.” The work, buried in a recently published inventory of HHS’s AI use cases, was never announced. And it came at a cost: more than $35 million in payments from HHS to Palantir in the past twelve months.
Since last March, the Department of Health and Human Services has been using AI tools from Palantir to screen and audit grants, grant applications, and job descriptions for noncompliance with President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting "gender ideology" and anything related to diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), according to a recently published inventory of all use cases HHS had for AI in 2025. Neither Palantir nor HHS has publicly announced that the company's software was being used for these purposes. During the first year of Trump's second term, Palantir earned more than $35 million in payments and obligations from HHS alone.
None of the descriptions for these transactions mention this work targeting DEI or "gender ideology." The audits have been taking place within HHS's Administration for Children and Families (ACF), which funds family and child welfare and oversees the foster and adoption systems. Palantir is the sole contractor charged with making a list of "position descriptions that may need to be adjusted for alignment with recent executive orders." In addition to Palantir, the startup Credal AI--which was founded by two Palantir alumni--helped ACF audit "existing grants and new grant applications." The "AI-based" grant review process, the inventory says, "reviews application submission files and generates initial flags and priorities for discussion." All relevant information is then routed to the ACF Program Office for final review.
The quiet marriage of private surveillance tech and public grant funding is now a matter of record. Palantir’s algorithms comb through applications for words that betray the wrong thinking. Credal AI flags the outliers.
The final cut, of course, still belongs to a human in the Program Office, but that human is reading a list pre-screened by machines trained to find ideological impurity. More than $35 million flowed from HHS to Palantir in a single year, yet the contract descriptions remained mute on the actual work. The audit trail is there, buried in an inventory few will read.
But the message is unmistakable: compliance is no longer just a matter of law; it is a matter of code. And code, unlike the messy language of human rights, never hesitates.
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Common Questions Answered
What specific AI tool is HHS using to audit grants and job descriptions?
HHS is using Palantir's AI tools to screen and audit grants, grant applications, and job descriptions. The implementation began in March 2024 and is focused on checking compliance with executive orders related to gender ideology and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
How does the HHS AI use case inventory relate to the Palantir AI tool deployment?
The Palantir AI tool deployment appears in the 2025 HHS AI use case inventory, which lists every AI use case maintained by the agency. This inventory was published as part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy's (ASTP) annual reporting requirement consistent with Executive Order 13960.
Why has the HHS AI tool implementation raised concerns about transparency?
Neither Palantir nor HHS has publicly announced the deployment of the AI screening tool, which has raised questions about oversight and the specific criteria used to define noncompliance. The lack of public communication about the tool's implementation and its precise operational parameters has drawn attention to potential transparency issues.
Further Reading
- Palantir scores $20M HHS Integrated Care and Case Management (ICCM) and Database Support task on SHARE BPA — OrangeSlices AI
- HHS' new AI strategic plan promises increased guidance, funding — Fierce Healthcare
- Palantir wins $12M HHS CARES – ACF UCBC Expansion and Support task on SHARE BPA — OrangeSlices AI
