US Government Confirms Elon Musk's Grok AI Used in Strikes Against Iran
The United States government has confirmed that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, was utilized in military strikes against Iran. This revelation emerged from a legal briefing defending gas turbines operated by Musk's company, xAI, which are currently the subject of an environmental lawsuit. The US Department of Justice argued that the lawsuit, which aims to halt xAI's operations, threatens national, economic, and energy security by impacting AI innovation vital for military operations.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, was employed in strikes against Iran, according to a US government legal briefing seen by AFP on Tuesday. The June 15 brief was filed to defend gas turbines powering a major data center belonging to Musk's company, xAI, which is facing an environmental lawsuit.
The US Department of Justice contended in the brief that the lawsuit “threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War’s military operations.” Federal prosecutors supported this argument with testimony from Pentagon AI chief Cameron Stanley.
Stanley stated under oath that Grok is already integrated into Project Maven, the US military’s AI-assisted targeting program. Project Maven's Smart Systems (MSS) reportedly enabled US forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during “Operation Epic Fury.” Stanley commended Musk’s technology and the “greatly increased operational efficiency made possible by the Grok Gov Model.”
The environmental lawsuit against xAI was brought by the NAACP, a civil rights organization. The NAACP accuses xAI of operating dozens of turbines without proper permits, in violation of the Clean Air Act, claiming they pollute predominantly Black neighborhoods. xAI, however, asserts that the turbines are temporary and mobile, therefore not subject to the regulations cited.
The Pentagon previously terminated contracts with Anthropic in late February after the company refused to allow its AI tools for fully automated strikes or mass surveillance of Americans. Subsequently, the Department of Defense turned to competitors such as Google, OpenAI, and xAI to continue its AI development. This transition has encountered resistance, including demands from over 600 Google employees for the company not to provide AI to the military for classified operations, amid broader concerns about AI threats. In March, the government acknowledged that Anthropic’s Claude AI was still being used for military operations in Iran.
(Source: Dawn Pakistan)
