US Military Used Musk’s Grok in Iran Operations

The US military used an artificial intelligence system developed by Elon Musk’s xAI during operations against Iran, according to Bild.

The information emerged in a legal dispute over gas turbines powering an xAI data center near Memphis. The lawsuit was brought by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a US civil rights organization, which alleges that the turbines were operated without the required permits.

In a court filing supporting xAI, the US Department of Justice argued that the facility formed part of infrastructure important to national, economic and energy security.

The department cited a sworn statement by Pentagon artificial intelligence official Cameron Stanley. He said a Grok-based system known as the Grok Gov Model had been used within Project Maven to support AI-assisted targeting.

According to Stanley, the system helped US forces deploy more than 2,000 munitions against around 2,000 targets within 96 hours. He described the result as a significant increase in operational efficiency.

Bild also reported that the Pentagon had previously used Anthropic’s Claude system to analyze intelligence, assist with target identification and support operational planning. The AI did not directly control weapons systems.

(mja)