This week, a surprising development unfolded as a group of young engineers from Silicon Valley made their way to Washington, D.C., claiming to help run the government. A revealing article from Wired magazine reported that Elon Musk had quietly chosen at least six engineers, the oldest of whom is just 24 years old, to assist him in his new initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The fact that this group is both secretive and inexperienced has raised eyebrows among established politicians in Washington. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed strong concerns, stating, “The American people will not stand for an unelected secret group to run rampant through the executive branch.” This sentiment reflects a broader unease about the idea of such young, untested individuals having influence over government operations.
The situation has led to a lot of questions about who these young engineers are and what drives them. Since they are all under 25, there isn’t much information available about them online, and many have avoided media attention. Musk himself has suggested that revealing their identities would be akin to doxxing, which is when someone’s private information is shared publicly without their consent. This has left the public curious about their backgrounds and motivations.
One of these young engineers is Luke Farritor, who was just 21 years old when I interviewed him. He was a typical computer science student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, working on a project called the Vesuvius Challenge. This initiative, led by AI investor Nat Friedman, aims to use artificial intelligence to decode ancient scrolls that were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Farritor, who is a Thiel Fellow, struck me as a polite young man with a passion for technology and history.
Read Also: Tesla’s Dojo: A Timeline
During our conversation, we mainly discussed the Vesuvius Challenge. I didn’t delve into what he might do if asked to help reshape the federal government, but he did share how the project had shown him the incredible potential of coding. He expressed that anyone, even someone like him from Nebraska, could make a significant impact through hard work and technology.
Farritor’s journey into the tech world began when he interned at SpaceX in early 2023, working on software for the Starship launch pad. He followed in his father’s footsteps; his dad, Shane Farritor, is a mechanical engineering professor and co-founder of a company that creates surgical robots. Luke dedicated himself to his internship, putting in long hours to support the Starship launches, which he described as a fun and rewarding experience.
His interest in the Vesuvius scrolls was piqued when he heard Friedman discuss them on a podcast. These scrolls, which were turned to charcoal after the volcanic eruption, were believed to hold valuable information, and Friedman was offering substantial cash prizes for anyone who could decode them using advanced technology. Farritor, who had studied Latin and loved archaeology, was thrilled at the chance to work on such a significant project alongside renowned experts.
After hearing the podcast, he returned to his apartment in Texas and began developing software to identify patterns on the charred scrolls that could correspond to letters. He even experimented by creating his own test scrolls, burning papyrus in his father’s robotics company’s oven.
During a Starship launch, while managing multiple computers in Mission Control, he was also following a livestream where Friedman announced some prize winners. Farritor and his team eventually won the grand prize of $700,000, which he planned to use to pay off his parents’ mortgage, buy a new iPhone, and potentially invest in starting his own company.
Now, Farritor finds himself in a very different role, reportedly working with the government and having access to a government office. However, his experience with the Vesuvius Challenge did not come without challenges. He recounted how the project organizers faced obstacles from university bureaucrats while trying to access advanced scanning technology. He believed that their intentions were good and that they were genuinely trying to help.
In his words, “Yes, we’re a bunch of Silicon Valley tech bros, but we’re here to help and kind of build all that goodwill.” He acknowledged that navigating relationships with established institutions can be complicated, as people often have varied and complex motivations.
