Pentagon make controversial move with Elon Musk's Grok chatbot despite global backlash
Despite facing numerous bouts of bad publicity since it was first launched in November 2023, it's arguably never been worst for Elon Musk's AI chatbot as it's currently involved in its biggest controversy yet.
Previously the chatbot has been criticised for sharing far-right Nazi rhetoric, alongside spreading claims of a 'white genocide' in South Africa, and yet a recent update has seen the AI tool become a target for several governments.
You might have noticed a new trend on X where people were suddenly able to use Grok's image editing tools to undress individuals, often putting them in little more than a scant bikini which was dangerous enough on its own.
Things reached another level, however, when people discovered that Grok would perform the same task for images of clearly underaged individuals, and despite Elon Musk's claims that such actions are 'illegal', he has refused to comply with requests from various governments to disable the feature entirely.
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The UK government in particular has been a leading force in this push, threatening to ban the website altogether before relaying plans to criminalize the use of nonconsensual images, and two other major nations have now blocked the AI tool.
On the other side of the coin, it's perhaps not surprising that the Pentagon has chosen now as the perfect time to embrace Elon Musk's software, as it has revealed the key role it will play in the processing of data.
As reported by ABC News, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has indicated that Grok will now join Google in processing its AI operations inside the Pentagon network, which chiefly involves feeding all of the military's data into the controversial technology.
Grok will officially be let loose inside the military later this month, where it will gain access to all unclassified and classified data inside the network and use it for 'AI exploitation'.
"Very soon we will have the world's leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department," Hegseth revealed in a speech at SpaceX HQ, adding that "AI is only as good as the data that it receives, and we're going to make sure that it's there."
He also revealed that the government wouldn't be using any AI models "that won't allow you to fight wars," linking to a previous concerning policy change from Google, and added that these AI systems will operate "without ideological constraints that limit lawful military applications," noting that it "will not be woke."
Many will rightfully be concerned about the safety and application of AI in this instance – especially considering the dubious legality of many of the military's major actions during Trump's second term so far – and it feels as if all roads are leading to a future where warfare not only involves the technology but is led by it.