US Government States Elon Musk's Grok AI Used in Iran Strikes
The United States government disclosed in a recent legal briefing that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, has been deployed in military strikes against Iran. This information was revealed in a June 15 document, which defends gas turbines at an xAI data center currently facing an environmental lawsuit. The Department of Justice argued that the lawsuit threatens national security by potentially disrupting AI innovation crucial for military operations. Pentagon AI chief Cameron Stanley's sworn testimony confirmed Grok’s integration into Project Maven, the military’s AI-assisted targeting program.
The United States government has confirmed that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, has been utilized in military strikes against Iran. This revelation came to light in a legal briefing dated June 15, which was reviewed by AFP on Tuesday. The brief primarily serves to defend gas turbines associated with a large data center belonging to Musk's company, xAI, which is currently the subject of an environmental lawsuit.
The U.S. Department of Justice contended in the briefing that the environmental lawsuit poses a threat to "American national, economic, and energy security." The department argued that seeking to halt the power supply for AI innovation supporting Department of War military operations could have severe implications.
To substantiate this argument, federal prosecutors presented sworn testimony from Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon's AI chief. Stanley stated that Grok is already in use within Project Maven, the U.S. military’s AI-assisted targeting program. Project Maven was initially powered by Anthropic’s Claude model. Stanley's statement further noted that Project Maven's Smart Systems (MSS) "enabled US forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury." He also lauded Musk’s technology and the "greatly increased operational efficiency made possible by the Grok Gov Model."
The environmental lawsuit against xAI has been filed by the NAACP, a civil rights organization. The NAACP accuses xAI of operating numerous turbines without proper permits, in violation of the Clean Air Act, and claims these turbines pollute predominantly Black neighborhoods. xAI has countered these allegations, asserting that the turbines are temporary and mobile, and therefore not subject to the regulations cited.
The government terminated its contracts with Anthropic in late February after the company declined to permit its AI tools for fully automated strikes or mass surveillance of Americans. Subsequently, the Pentagon sought out AI solutions from competitors, including Google, OpenAI, and xAI. The transition to AI in the US military is ongoing, with reports in March indicating that Claude was still being used for the war in Iran. Musk folded xAI into his space exploration company SpaceX in February.
(Source: Dawn Pakistan)
