The Overthinker's Journal

I did a little test to see what Artificial Intelligence thinks of the “very generous offer” provided via the “Fork in the Road” Deferred Resignation Program.

If you haven’t read what we have been presented with, feel free to read it for yourself at https://www.opm.gov/fork

I’m not suggesting that ChatGPT is some sentient being. I know it’s nothing more than a large language model. But where it excels is in parsing words, and that’s what I needed it to do.

All I did was ask ChatGPT to assume the role of a federal employee who just received an email from hr@opm.gov with the text of the “Fork in the Road” email, and asked for a reaction. This was its response:

ChatGPT:

If I were a federal employee and received this email from OPM, my immediate reaction would be skepticism and concern. Here’s how I would approach it:

Red Flags & Immediate Concerns

1. Legitimacy & Phishing Risk

• OPM does not normally communicate major workforce policy changes via mass email, especially with a single-action “Reply to Resign” process.

• The tone and formatting resemble a social engineering attempt rather than an official government directive.

• The email mentions Executive Order 9830 (which is from 1947 and governs hiring, not mass resignations). This suggests either incompetence or deception.

2. Legality & Policy Implications

• Federal workforce reductions and reorganizations must follow legal procedures, including Congressional oversight, merit system protections, and union negotiations where applicable.

• The “at-will status” reference contradicts long-standing federal employment protections under Title 5 of the U.S. Code.

• The “deferred resignation program” allowing employees to be paid through September 2025 without working sounds legally dubious and impractical from a budgetary perspective.

3. Security & Procedural Violations

• No official agency contact, HR verification, or secure portal for resignations—just an email reply.

• The email states that non-responses have “no penalty,” yet workforce reduction efforts normally involve structured procedures, not passive opt-outs.

My Response

1. Do Not Reply

• I would absolutely NOT reply to this email, as it could be a phishing attempt.

2. Verify Through Official Channels

• I would check OPM’s official website and internal agency communications to see if any such policy changes have been officially announced.

• I would contact my agency’s HR department directly for guidance.

• If I am part of a union, I would contact my union representative.

3. Report the Email

• If my agency has a cybersecurity or IT department, I would forward it to them for verification.

• If the email is fraudulent, I would report it to OPM and my agency’s security office.

Final Thoughts

Whether legitimate or not, this email would raise major concerns about the stability and direction of the federal workforce under the new administration. 

If true, it suggests a major shake-up with potential reductions in force (RIFs), relocations, and policy overhauls. 

If false, it could be a sophisticated phishing or misinformation attempt.

Either way, it warrants immediate verification through official sources before taking any action.

ChatGPT doesn’t trust anything in this “very generous offer”. From the get-go it states the author is either incompetent or lying. It only goes downhill from there.

The final thoughts are the most chilling. If this deal was fake, then it was a pretty elaborate attempt to fool the entire federal workforce.

But, as we know, this is deadly serious, and represents a radical overhaul of the entire federal bureaucracy.

I want to go back to precedented times.