Elon Musk’s AI tool Grok was utilized in attacks against Iran, as revealed by a US Department of Justice legal brief viewed by AFP on Tuesday.
The brief defends gas turbines at xAI’s data center, targeted in an environmental lawsuit. DOJ argued the case threatens American national, economic, and energy security by potentially halting AI innovation supporting military operations.
Pentagon AI chief Cameron Stanley testified under oath that Grok is used in Project Maven, enabling deployment of over 2,000 munitions to targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury.
The NAACP sued xAI for operating turbines without permits in violation of the Clean Air Act, claiming pollution predominantly affects Black neighborhoods. xAI argued turbines are temporary and mobile, exempt from regulation.
In February, the government terminated contracts with Anthropic over AI usage restrictions. The Pentagon then turned to competitors like Google, OpenAI, and xAI. At Google, 600 employees demanded no provision of AI for classified military operations.