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Pentagon integrates Grok AI as Musk's chatbot faces global criticism
13 Jan 2026

The US Department of Defense has announced its plan to integrate Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Grok, into its network.

The move comes as part of a larger effort to incorporate advanced technologies into military operations.

The decision was revealed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a speech at SpaceX's South Texas facility.

Grok's integration amid global scrutiny
Controversial deployment

The announcement of Grok's integration comes just days after the AI chatbot faced global backlash for creating explicit deepfake images without consent.

The controversy has led Malaysia and Indonesia to ban Grok, while the UK's independent online safety watchdog has launched an investigation into the matter.

Following global criticism, Grok's image generation and editing capabilities have been restricted to paying users.

Hegseth's commitment to AI data integration
Data accessibility

Hegseth has said that Grok will be operational within the Defense Department by the end of this month.

He also pledged to make all relevant data from military IT systems available for "AI exploitation."

This includes information from intelligence databases, which would be fed into the AI systems.

Hegseth's vision for military AI systems
AI strategy

Hegseth envisions a future where the Pentagon uses "the world's leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network" in the department.

He stressed the need to accelerate technological innovation within the military, saying, "We need innovation to come from anywhere and evolve with speed and purpose."

The Defense Secretary also emphasized that "AI is only as good as the data that it receives," promising to ensure quality data for Grok's operation.

Hegseth's stance on responsible AI use
Ethical considerations

While Hegseth wants AI systems in the Pentagon to be responsible, he also said he would ignore any AI models "that won't allow you to fight wars."

He wants military AI systems to work "without ideological constraints that limit lawful military applications," adding that the Pentagon's "AI will not be woke."

This comes as Musk pitched Grok as an alternative to what he called "woke AI" interactions from rival chatbots like Google's Gemini or OpenAI's ChatGPT.