Musk’s xAI sneaks into Pentagon’s classified networks: Elizabeth Warren is worried

Grok, the AI model from Elon Musk’s startup xAI, is certainly controversial. So why has the system been given access to the Pentagon's classified networks? That’s what Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator, wants to know.

Warren sent a letter to War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, questioning the administration’s decision to give xAI access to classified networks and put the company at the center of some of America’s most sensitive and secretive operations.

According to the senator, this has been done despite concerns raised by multiple federal agencies, including the National Security Agency and the General Services Administration (GSA).

“Grok, the controversial AI model developed by xAI, has provided disturbing outputs for users, including giving users ‘advice on how to commit murders and terrorist attacks,’ generating antisemitic content, and creating child sexual abuse material,” writes Warren.

Even more importantly, she cites a recent report from The Wall Street Journal that the GSA has conducted a classified review and determined Grok had particular security concerns that other models didn’t.

Unsurprisingly, Warren’s letter states: “I am concerned that Grok’s apparent lack of adequate guardrails could pose serious risks to the safety of US military personnel and to the cybersecurity of classified systems, especially if Grok is given sensitive military information and access to operational systems.”

The senator isn’t the only one worried. Last month, a coalition of non-profit organizations also urged the government to immediately suspend the deployment of Grok in federal agencies, including the Department of War.

More issues with Grok are coming to light almost daily. On the same day that Warren posted her open letter, a class action lawsuit was filed against xAI, alleging Grok had generated sexual content from real images of the plaintiffs as minors.

The edited photos spread across Discord and Telegram in recent months, and some were bartered for other child sexual abuse material in online chatrooms, according to the complaint, first reported by The Washington Post.

According to Axios, the DoW signed agreements with xAI and OpenAI to use their AI systems in classified networks after the Pentagon labeled Anthropic – until recently the only AI company with classified-ready systems – a supply chain risk when it refused to give the military unrestricted access to its platform.

Warren’s concerns about potential misuse of sensitive government data – if Grok is employed – might also be valid because there’s precedent.

Last week, a former employee of Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” reportedly stole Americans’ personal data from the Social Security Administration and stored it on a thumb drive.

Warren wants a copy of the deal reportedly reached between the DoW and xAI. But it’s highly unlikely the current Pentagon leadership will even react to her letter.

First, the DoW is obviously busy with its shady and costly adventure in Iran. Besides, Hegseth is just too friendly with Musk, who has extensively supported President Donald Trump.

In January, Hegseth visited Musk’s company SpaceX in Texas and enthusiastically announced he would “make all appropriate data” from the military’s IT systems available for “AI exploitation.”

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