On 15/6, the US Department of Justice released a legal document in which Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon's AI division lead, revealed that the US military employed xAI's Grok for "Project Maven." This program uses artificial intelligence to support the US military's targeting and selection processes, initially using Anthropic's Claude model.
Grok is an artificial intelligence developed by Elon Musk's xAI company, first released in November 2023.
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An EA-18G electronic warfare fighter jet takes off from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier on 21/5. Photo: US Navy |
An EA-18G electronic warfare fighter jet takes off from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier on 21/5. Photo: US Navy
According to Stanley, the Maven Smart System (MSS) assisted the US military in "firing more than 2,000 weapons at 2,000 different targets within 96 hours" during Operation Horrific Fury against Iran. The Pentagon official praised Grok, stating that combat effectiveness was significantly enhanced thanks to the Grok Gov model.
The US Department of Justice document is being used in a lawsuit concerning a series of gas turbine generators operated by xAI.
The NAACP, an organization defending the rights of African Americans, accuses xAI of operating dozens of these devices without a permit, violating the Clean Air Act. The organization added that these polluting generators are deployed in residential areas predominantly inhabited by African Americans.
However, xAI claims these are mobile systems and are not subject to regulation under the act.
In the legal document, the US Department of Justice assessed the lawsuit as "threatening national, economic, and energy security by cutting off the power supply to the AI technologies supporting the Pentagon's military operations." Stanley's comments, mentioning Grok's role in the operation against Iran, were presented to bolster this argument.
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The xAI and Grok logos on a phone in a photo taken in February 2025. Photo: Reuters |
The xAI and Grok logos on a phone in a photo taken in February 2025. Photo: Reuters
In late February, the US government terminated its contract with Anthropic after the company refused to allow its tools to be used in autonomous military operations and citizen surveillance. The Pentagon subsequently turned to Anthropic's competitors such as Google, Open AI, and xAI.
More than 600 Google employees have asked the corporation not to provide artificial intelligence to the US military for classified operations. Many expressed concerns about the potential threats that artificial intelligence could pose. The US military's transition to artificial intelligence has been slow. US officials acknowledged in March that they were still using Claude for the operation against Iran.
Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, AP, Reuters)
