A young DOGE engineer from Elon Musk's team narrates how he won the $700,000 Vesuvius challenge.

This week, Silicon Valley made an unusual entry into Washington, D.C., with the news that a group of young engineers has been chosen to help lead Elon Musk's new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). A revealing report indicated that Musk had appointed at least six engineers, the oldest of whom is barely 24 years old, raising concerns among political circles in the U.S. capital. Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader, expressed his discontent, stating that the public will not accept a secret, unelected group managing the executive power.

The lack of experience and the secrecy surrounding this group of engineers, all of whom are under 25, has raised questions. Apparently, their digital footprints are minimal, and they have preferred to avoid media attention, in line with Musk’s stance, who has hinted that revealing their identities would be an unlawful act. This has led many to question who these young individuals really are and what their motivations are.

One of these young individuals is Luke Farritor, a 21-year-old student from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who has been working on the Vesuvius Challenge. This project, driven by AI investor Nat Friedman, aims to use artificial intelligence to decipher ancient scrolls. Farritor, who is a Thiel fellow, has shown himself to be an educated individual passionate about technology, sharing his enthusiasm for the challenge of applying his knowledge to tackle complex problems.

His internship at SpaceX, where he worked on software for the Starship launch platform, was also a significant experience for him as he followed in the footsteps of his father, a mechanical engineering professor and co-founder of a surgical robotics company. Farritor dedicated long hours to his work, describing it as “fun” and very enriching.

His interest in the Vesuvius Challenge arose when he heard Friedman on a podcast discussing the papyrus scrolls buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. These documents, which resembled blocks of charcoal, sparked Farritor’s curiosity, and he set out to develop software to detect patterns in the charred paper that might relate to letters. His dedication led him to experiment in his father’s company’s kitchen, creating his own test scrolls.

Ultimately, Farritor and his team managed to win a grand prize of $700,000, money that the young man plans to use to pay off his parents' mortgage, acquire a new iPhone, and possibly invest in starting his own business. Currently, he has entered a governmental environment, which differs quite a bit from his initial goals. During his time on the Vesuvius Challenge, he also encountered university bureaucracy while working to gain access to high-tech scanners. Farritor defended the idea that despite being a group of “tech bros from Silicon Valley,” they were there with the intention of helping and building good relationships.