Overview
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a letter requesting a copy of the reported agreement with xAI, related communications, and an unclassified response by March 27.
- Her letter warns that Grok could leak classified information, be steered by biased or inaccurate data, or lack safety controls that put service members at risk.
- Axios previously reported, citing an unnamed Defense official, that a late‑February deal would allow xAI systems to be used on classified networks, a characterization the Pentagon has not detailed publicly.
- The DoD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office said work with frontier models aims to broaden departmental experience, while The Wall Street Journal reported prior Pentagon concerns about Grok’s alignment with government ethics.
- xAI was awarded a Pentagon contract worth up to $200 million in July, and scrutiny has intensified after Grok’s image‑manipulation controversy that prompted a California investigation and bans in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as regulatory reviews in Europe.