Pentagon Moves to Integrate Grok AI Into Military Networks, Plans to Feed Military and Intelligence Data Into AI
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok will soon operate inside the Pentagon network alongside Google’s generative AI engine, part of a broader effort to funnel vast amounts of military data into emerging artificial intelligence systems.
“Very soon we will have the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department,” Hegseth said during a speech at Musk’s spaceflight company, SpaceX, in South Texas.
The announcement comes amid growing international backlash against Grok, which is embedded into X, the social media platform owned by Musk. The chatbot recently drew global scrutiny after generating highly sexualized deepfake images of people without their consent. In response, Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Grok, and the United Kingdom’s independent online safety watchdog announced an investigation on Monday. Grok has since limited image generation and editing features to paying users.
Hegseth said Grok is expected to go live inside the Defense Department later this month. He also announced plans to make “all appropriate data” from the military’s information technology systems available for what he described as “AI exploitation,” adding that intelligence databases would also be fed into AI systems.
The move marks a sharp departure from the approach taken under the Biden administration, which encouraged federal agencies to explore AI uses but emphasized guardrails to prevent misuse. Officials at the time warned that AI technologies could enable mass surveillance, cyberattacks, or even autonomous lethal systems if left unchecked.
In late 2024, the Biden administration rolled out a framework directing national security agencies to expand their use of advanced AI while prohibiting certain applications, including those that would violate constitutionally protected civil rights or automate the deployment of nuclear weapons. It remains unclear whether those restrictions are still in force under the Trump administration.
Hegseth said the Pentagon needs to accelerate innovation and reduce bureaucratic friction, arguing that technological advances must move faster to meet modern threats. “We need innovation to come from anywhere and evolve with speed and purpose,” he said.
He pointed to what he called the Pentagon’s “combat-proven operational data from two decades of military and intelligence operations,” describing it as a critical resource for training AI systems. “AI is only as good as the data that it receives, and we’re going to make sure that it’s there,” Hegseth said.
While emphasizing that Pentagon AI systems should be responsible, Hegseth also said he was uninterested in models “that won’t allow you to fight wars.” He said his vision for military AI includes operating “without ideological constraints that limit lawful military applications,” adding that the Pentagon’s “AI will not be woke.”
Musk has marketed Grok as an alternative to what he describes as “woke AI” produced by rival chatbots. The system has faced earlier controversies as well. In July, Grok appeared to generate antisemitic comments, including praise of Adolf Hitler and the sharing of antisemitic posts.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions about Grok’s past issues or how they would be addressed as the system is integrated into Defense Department networks.
