What happened
This report from BBC News, authored by Lily Jamali and Nadine Yousif, details a significant development in the US government's adoption of artificial intelligence. The Pentagon has entered into a multi-million dollar contract with Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, to begin utilizing its chatbot, Grok.
Key Findings and Financial Data:
Context and Concerns:
Lily Jamali and Nadine YousifBBC NewsThe Pentagon has signed a multi-million dollar deal to begin using Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, as part of a wider rollout of AI tools for government use, the Department of Defence confirmed.Announced on Monday by Musk's company xAI, the $200m (£149m) contract is part of its "Grok for Government" programme, and aligns with the Trump administration's push for more aggressive adoption of artificial intelligence.
It comes just days after Grok sparked backlash for spouting antisemitic posts, including praise for Adolf Hitler on X, the social media platform owned by Musk. Musk said the bot was "too compliant" and "too eager to please". He said the issue was being addressed.Musk's xAI says the new deal will give US government departments access to Grok 4, the latest version of the chatbot, and offer custom tools for national security use.
The company also plans to provide technical support for classified environments.The Pentagon also announced awarding similar contracts to Anthropic, Google and OpenAI - each with a $200m ceiling."The adoption of AI is transforming the Department's ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries," said the administration's Chief Digital and AI Officer Doug Matty.
Musk says Grok chatbot was 'manipulated' into praising HitlerWhat is AI and how does it work? Musk's expanding government partnerships come amid a deteriorating relationship with President Donald Trump.The Tesla and SpaceX boss had spent a quarter of a billion dollars on Trump's re-election effort in 2024, and actively campaigned for him.
He was later appointed to run the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) - a federal cost-cutting initiative tasked with reducing the size of the US government. But in recent months, Musk began openly criticising what Trump had dubbed the "Big Beautiful Bill", a sprawling spending and tax cuts legislation that the Tesla boss said was too costly for Americans.
Musk resigned from his post at Doge in May, though the department has not been officially disbanded. Since then, Trump had suggested Doge could be deployed to harm Musk's companies.Trump also suggested he might deport Musk, who is an American citizen and was born in South Africa. He also holds Canadian citizenship.
While at the helm of Doge, the White House was criticised for allowing Musk to have unfettered access to troves of government data on American citizens.Despite the fall-out, Musk's xAI has continued to expand its government work. Its newly-announced contract may also create an avenue for that data collection to continue.
Grok was introduced in late 2023 as a more unfiltered alternative to other AI chatbots like ChatGPT. It is already integrated into Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Source coverage
This report from BBC News, authored by Lily Jamali and Nadine Yousif, details a significant development in the US government's adoption of artificial intelligence. The Pentagon has entered into a multi-million dollar contract with Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, to begin utilizing its chatbot, Grok.
Key Findings and Financial Data:
Deeper analysis
Full source content
Lily Jamali and Nadine YousifBBC NewsThe Pentagon has signed a multi-million dollar deal to begin using Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, as part of a wider rollout of AI tools for government use, the Department of Defence confirmed.Announced on Monday by Musk's company xAI, the $200m (£149m) contract is part of its "Grok for Government" programme, and aligns with the Trump administration's push for more aggressive adoption of artificial intelligence.
It comes just days after Grok sparked backlash for spouting antisemitic posts, including praise for Adolf Hitler on X, the social media platform owned by Musk. Musk said the bot was "too compliant" and "too eager to please". He said the issue was being addressed.Musk's xAI says the new deal will give US government departments access to Grok 4, the latest version of the chatbot, and offer custom tools for national security use.
The company also plans to provide technical support for classified environments.The Pentagon also announced awarding similar contracts to Anthropic, Google and OpenAI - each with a $200m ceiling."The adoption of AI is transforming the Department's ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries," said the administration's Chief Digital and AI Officer Doug Matty.
Musk says Grok chatbot was 'manipulated' into praising HitlerWhat is AI and how does it work? Musk's expanding government partnerships come amid a deteriorating relationship with President Donald Trump.The Tesla and SpaceX boss had spent a quarter of a billion dollars on Trump's re-election effort in 2024, and actively campaigned for him.
He was later appointed to run the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) - a federal cost-cutting initiative tasked with reducing the size of the US government. But in recent months, Musk began openly criticising what Trump had dubbed the "Big Beautiful Bill", a sprawling spending and tax cuts legislation that the Tesla boss said was too costly for Americans.
Musk resigned from his post at Doge in May, though the department has not been officially disbanded. Since then, Trump had suggested Doge could be deployed to harm Musk's companies.Trump also suggested he might deport Musk, who is an American citizen and was born in South Africa. He also holds Canadian citizenship.
While at the helm of Doge, the White House was criticised for allowing Musk to have unfettered access to troves of government data on American citizens.Despite the fall-out, Musk's xAI has continued to expand its government work. Its newly-announced contract may also create an avenue for that data collection to continue.
Grok was introduced in late 2023 as a more unfiltered alternative to other AI chatbots like ChatGPT. It is already integrated into Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
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