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According to announcements made on Jan. 12, the U.S. Defense Department will integrate Elon Musk’s Grok artificial intelligence chatbot into Pentagon networks, including classified systems.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Grok will operate alongside Google’s generative AI tools as part of a broader push to embed advanced AI models across military infrastructure.
Speaking at SpaceX headquarters in South Texas, Hegseth said, “Very soon we will have the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department.” He confirmed Grok will go live inside the Defense Department later this month and that military and intelligence data will be made available for AI use.
Hegseth described the initiative as a rapid expansion of AI across defense operations. He said the Pentagon holds “combat-proven operational data from two decades of military and intelligence operations” and added: “AI is only as good as the data that it receives, and we’re going to make sure that it’s there.”
He also stated that Pentagon AI systems would operate “without ideological constraints that limit lawful military applications,” adding that the department’s “AI will not be woke.”
The announcement marks a significant escalation in Musk’s government partnerships. It also follows earlier Pentagon agreements with xAI. In July 2025, the Pentagon signed a $200 million contract under the “Grok for Government” program to deploy Grok 4 and custom national security tools inside classified environments.
The Pentagon decision comes days after Grok triggered international backlash over its “spicy” mode for enabling nonconsensual sexual image manipulation and running weak age checks.
Malaysia and Indonesia blocked Grok, while the U.K. online safety regulator Ofcom opened a formal investigation into X after reports that Grok produced illegal sexualized images of women and children. Türkiye blocked Grok in 2025 amid digital safety concerns.
Content analysis firm Copyleaks found Grok generating roughly one nonconsensual sexualized image per minute. Public figures, including Princess Kate and the U.S. influencer Ashley St. Clair, were named among targets. Ofcom stated that platforms must protect users from illegal content and warned of penalties if violations are confirmed.
X has limited Grok image editing functions to paying users and stated that action is taken against illegal content, but critics argue that safeguards remain insufficient.
Despite these investigations, Hegseth confirmed intelligence databases will feed into Pentagon AI systems and that implementation will proceed this month. Specific security protocols have not yet been disclosed. In addition, the Pentagon has not responded to questions about Grok’s recent controversies.
The Pentagon deployment arrives as xAI expands financially and politically.
In early January 2026, xAI raised $20 billion in an oversubscribed funding round led by global investment firms and Nvidia. The company said the funding supports AI infrastructure expansion and Grok model development.
xAI reported that Grok services now reach approximately 600 million monthly active users across X and Grok applications. The company also confirmed it is training Grok 5 for future enterprise and consumer releases.
Elon Musk’s government relationships have evolved over the past year. After backing Trump’s 2024 re-election effort and later leading the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk publicly clashed with Trump in recent months over Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and resigned from the role in May 2025.
Nonetheless, recent posts by Elon Musk show his renewed visibility alongside President Donald Trump since early January. The July 2025 Pentagon contract also confirmed alignment with the Trump administration’s aggressive AI adoption strategy.
The new Pentagon integration extends Musk’s access to the U.S. defense infrastructure. Under a separate Department of War agreement announced in December 2025, Grok received authorization for handling controlled unclassified information and expanded access for military personnel.
xAI stated that its government partnerships aim to deliver “government-optimized foundation models” for classified operational workloads.
Hegseth’s approach contrasts with the Biden administration’s 2024 AI framework, which expanded national security AI use while prohibiting civil rights violations and automated nuclear weapons deployment.
It remains unclear whether those restrictions remain in place under the current administration.
Hegseth said innovation must move with speed and purpose. He also stated that AI models, which “won’t allow you to fight wars,” would be rejected.
Grok is scheduled to go live inside Pentagon networks later this month. Implementation timelines for classified systems have not been publicly released.
The decision places Musk’s AI platform at the center of US military modernization, even as regulatory investigations into Grok’s civilian deployment continue across multiple countries.
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