Pentagon is embracing Musk’s Grok AI chatbot as it draws global outcry
WASHINGTON– Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that Grok, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot, will join Google’s generative AI engine to operate within the Pentagon’s network, part of a broader initiative to feed as much military data into developing technology as possible.
“Very soon, we will have the best AI models in the world across all of our department’s unclassified and classified networks,” Hegseth said in a speech to Elon Musk’s spaceflight company, SpaceX, in South Texas.
The announcement comes just days after Grok – which is integrated into X, the social media network owned by Musk – sparked global outcry and scrutiny for generating fake, highly sexualized images of people without their consent.
Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked Grok, while the UK’s independent online safety watchdog announced an investigation on Monday. Grok has limited image generation and editing to paid users.
Hegseth said Grok would be operational within the Defense Ministry later this month and announced it would “make all appropriate data” from military computer systems available for “AI exploitation.” He also said that data from intelligence databases would be integrated into AI systems.
Hegseth’s aggressive efforts to embrace this still-developing technology contrast with the Biden administration, which while pushing federal agencies to develop policies and uses for AI, was also wary of abuse. Officials said rules were needed to ensure the technology, which could be exploited for mass surveillance, cyberattacks or even deadly autonomous devices, was used responsibly.
The Biden administration adopted a framework in late 2024 that directed national security agencies to expand their use of the most advanced AI systems, but prohibited certain uses, such as applications that would violate constitutionally protected civil rights or any systems that would automate the deployment of nuclear weapons. It is unclear whether these bans are still in effect under the Trump administration.
During his speech, Hegseth spoke about the need to streamline and accelerate technological innovations within the military, stating: “We need innovation to come from anywhere and evolve with speed and purpose. »
He noted that the Pentagon has “combat-proven operational data from two decades of military and intelligence operations.”
“AI is only as good as the data it receives, and we’re going to make sure it’s there,” Hegseth said.
The defense secretary said he wants AI systems within the Pentagon to be accountable, while adding that he ignores any AI model “that wouldn’t allow you to wage war.”
Hegseth said his vision for military AI systems means they operate “without ideological constraints that limit legal military applications,” before adding that “the Pentagon’s AI will not be woken.”
Musk developed and pitched Grok as an alternative to what he called the “woke” interactions of rival chatbots like Google’s Gemini or OpenAI’s ChatGPT. In July, Grok also sparked controversy after appearing to make anti-Semitic comments praising Adolf Hitler and sharing several anti-Semitic messages.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions about the issues with Grok.
