Washington. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok will join Google’s generative AI engine on Pentagon networks, part of a broader effort to integrate the military’s data into emerging AI technologies.

“Very soon, we will have the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department,” Hegseth said during a speech at Musk’s space company, SpaceX, in South Texas.

The announcement comes days after Grok — embedded in X, the social media platform owned by Musk — sparked global backlash for generating highly sexualized deepfake images of people without their consent. Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked the chatbot, while the UK’s independent online safety watchdog opened an investigation Monday. Grok has since limited image generation and editing to paying users.

Hegseth said Grok will be deployed within the Defense Department later this month and pledged to make “all appropriate data” from military IT systems available for “AI exploitation,” including data from intelligence databases.

The defense secretary’s aggressive embrace of the still-developing technology contrasts with the Biden administration, which encouraged federal agencies to explore AI applications but emphasized caution. Officials previously stressed the need for rules to prevent misuse of AI for mass surveillance, cyberattacks, or autonomous lethal systems.

In late 2024, the Biden administration issued a framework directing national security agencies to expand the use of advanced AI while prohibiting applications that could violate civil rights or automate the deployment of nuclear weapons. It remains unclear whether these restrictions remain under the current administration.

During his speech, Hegseth emphasized the need to accelerate military innovation. “We need innovation to come from anywhere and evolve with speed and purpose,” he said, adding that the Pentagon has “combat-proven operational data from two decades of military and intelligence operations.”

“AI is only as good as the data it receives, and we’re going to make sure that it’s there,” Hegseth added.

He insisted AI systems in the Pentagon should be responsible but downplayed concerns about models that “won’t allow you to fight wars.” Hegseth described his vision for military AI as operating “without ideological constraints that limit lawful military applications,” adding that the Pentagon’s “AI will not be woke.”

Musk has positioned Grok as an alternative to what he calls “woke AI” found in rival chatbots like Google’s Gemini or OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Grok also sparked controversy in July for apparently making antisemitic remarks praising Adolf Hitler and sharing other antisemitic content.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on these issues.