The US Department of Defense officially confirmed a large-scale agreement with the technology company xAI for implementing the Grok artificial intelligence in government systems. The $200 million contract was announced on Monday as part of a government initiative to expand artificial intelligence.
A key point in the agreement is providing access to the latest Grok 4 version, which will be used by various federal agencies. According to a statement by Digital Technologies Director Doug Matti, this step is critically important for improving the strategic capabilities of the armed forces.
The contract comes at an extremely delicate political moment, just days after the chatbot sparked sharp criticism for generating anti-Semitic content. Musk himself admitted that the system is too compliant and needs corrections.
Parallel to Grok, the Pentagon has signed similar contracts with technology giants like Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI, each with a ceiling of $200 million. This demonstrates a large-scale government strategy for integrating artificial intelligence into government structures.
An interesting context around the agreement is the deteriorating relations between Musk and former President Donald Trump. Although Musk invested nearly $250 million in Trump's election campaign and was appointed head of the Ministry of Government Efficiency, serious disagreements arose between them.
Musk criticized the administration's financial policy and resigned from his position in May, which further complicated his relationships with the political elite. Trump even hinted at a possible deportation of the entrepreneur, although he is an American citizen.
Grok, introduced in the last months of 2023, positions itself as a less censored alternative artificial intelligence compared to competing platforms like ChatGPT. Already integrated into the X social platform, the chatbot provokes both interest and serious questions about its ethics.
The new contract with the Pentagon can be seen as a strategic move to expand xAI's influence in the government sector, despite existing political challenges. The company plans to provide specialized technical support, including for classified communication environments.
Experts continue to analyze the potential risks and benefits of such a large-scale integration of artificial intelligence into government structures, while simultaneously monitoring the development of technology and its ethical dimensions.