Skip to main content
Friday, May 9, 2025
Home
Omaha Daily Record
  • Login
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Calendar
    • Real Estate
    • Small Business
    • Non-Profit
    • Political
    • Legal
  • Podcasts
    • Real Estate
    • Small Business
    • Non-Profit
    • Political
    • Legal
  • Profiles
    • Real Estate
    • Small Business
    • Non-Profit
    • Political
    • Legal
  • E-Edition
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
  • Real Estate News
    • Market Trends
  • Business News
  • Non-Profit News
  • Political News
  • Legal News
  • Editorial
    • Empower You
    • The Serial Entrepreneur
    • Tom Becka
  • Other News
  • Public Records
    • Wreck Permits
    • Building Permits
    • Electrical Permits
    • Mechanical Permits
    • Plumbing Permits
  • Real Estate Leads
    • Notice of Default
    • Active Property Sales
    • Active Probates
    • Deeds
  • Public Notices
    • State of Nebraska
    • City of Bennington
    • City of Gretna
    • City of Valley
    • Douglas County West Community Schools
    • Gretna Public Schools
    • Omaha Airport Authority
    • Omaha Housing Authority
    • Plattsmouth Community Schools
    • City of Omaha
    • Douglas County
      • Tax Delinqueny 2025
    • City/County Notice of Bids
    • City of Ralston
    • Omaha Public Schools
    • Millard Public Schools
    • Ralston Public Schools
    • Westside Community Schools
    • Bennington Public Schools
    • Learning Community
    • MAPA
    • MECA
    • Omaha Airport Authority
    • Village of Boys Town
    • Village of Waterloo
    • Sarpy County
      • Tax Delinquency 2025
    • City of Bellevue
  • Advertise
    • Place a Legal Notice
    • Place a Print Ad
    • Place a Classified Ad
    • Place an Online Ad
    • Place Sponsored Content
  • Available For Hire
    • Real Estate
      • Contractors
      • Clerical
    • Legal
      • Paralegal
      • Clerical
  • About
    • Our History
    • Our Office
    • Our Staff
    • Contact Us

You are here

Home » Lincoln Man Reportedly Working On Elon Musk, DOGE Government Efficiency Project

Lincoln Man Reportedly Working On Elon Musk, DOGE Government Efficiency Project

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 02/07/2025 - 1:00am

A screenshot from a video the University of Nebraska-Lincoln did with Luke Farritor before he joined Elon Musk’s DOGE effort. (Courtesy of UNL)
By 
Paul Hammel
Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — He isn’t yet responding to requests to talk to Nebraska media. But others are talking a lot about former University of Nebraska-Lincoln student Luke Farritor’s reported role in Elon Musk’s effort to reduce federal government spending.

Farritor — the co-winner of a $700,000 prize last year for helping decipher the Greek words on a volcanically charred, 2,000-year-old scroll — was identified by Wired magazine on Sunday as one of six young computer whizzes working with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. That group, created by President Donald Trump, is led by Musk, the world’s richest man.

The effort is receiving praise and criticism for analyzing reams of federal government data, including payments people receive from the government that critics say contain sensitive private banking information.

Farritor, a 23-year-old Lincoln native, had been an intern at Musk’s Space X while studying computer science at UNL’s Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management.

On Tuesday night, a man who described himself as a “friend of the family” waved off a reporter seeking to speak to Farritor at a southeast Lincoln home identified as his residence.

“He’s not even here,” said the man, who emerged from a white pickup with dark-tinted windows that was facing the street with its engine running.

By midday Wednesday, Farritor had not responded to a text seeking comment or a request to speak to an Examiner reporter, which was forwarded through the man in the driveway. He also didn’t respond to a request by The Lincoln Journal Star.

But his reported role has sparked plenty of discussion on social media.

On Tuesday, State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, a registered nonpartisan, wrote on X that while Farritor’s work in deciphering the scroll demonstrated that “he’s clearly a genius … why does he have my social security number?”

Last week, it was reported that the U.S. Department of Treasury had granted DOGE access to the government payment records of millions of Americans. This access sparked a lawsuit Tuesday by unions and an alliance representing federal workers and retirees.

Wrote Hunt: “This unprecedented access raises constitutional concerns that demand the attention of our federal delegation.”

Several responses to Hunt’s X post argued that Musk and his young sleuths may have violated federal law and invaded people’s privacy. Others defended Farritor and DOGE, with some asking why anyone would oppose making government more efficient.

“Luke is an incredibly hard person to hate,” said another, who included a video done by UNL. The video explained the award-winning work, using AI, by Farritor and his collaborators, Youssef Nader and Julian Schilliger, to decipher an ancient scroll buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Farritor, whose father is a UNL mechanical engineering professor, was driving to his internship at Space X in Texas in March 2023 when he learned of the major prize, the “Vesuvius Challenge,” being offered to whoever could decipher an ancient scroll found among the ruins of Pompeii, according to The Free Press, a Los Angeles-based news site.

He reportedly left UNL before graduating to work for a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. He earned a fellowship from a foundation tied to tech venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who has supported Trump.

 

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/lincoln-man-reportedly-working-on-el...

Category:

  • Legal News

User login

  • Request new password

            

Latest Podcasts

  • Real Estate
  • Political
  • Political
  • Real Estate

Nebraska Landlord

Betches Sup - A Liberal News Commentary

Ruthless - A Conservative News Commentary

REIA Radio Show

Omaha Daily Record

The Daily Record
222 South 72nd Street, Suite 302
Omaha, Nebraska
68114
United States

Tele (402) 345-1303
Fax (402) 345-2351
 

The Daily Record
222 South 72nd Street, Suite 302 | Omaha, Nebraska 68114 | United States | Tele (402) 345-1303 | Fax (402) 345-2351 | Sitemap
Site Design, Programming & Development by Surf New Media