- Trump administration confirmed Grok AI directed Iran missile strikes.
- Grok strikes targeted 2,000 sites, potentially caused civilian deaths.
- Disclosure in xAI lawsuit defended vital national security facilities.
The Trump administration has confirmed it used Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot to direct missile strikes in Iran, with the Pentagon’s top AI official revealing the tool helped fire more than 2,000 munitions at 2,000 separate targets within just 96 hours.
The disclosure came in a sworn court filing meant to defend Musk against allegations that xAI’s data centres are illegally polluting Black communities, raising fresh questions about how artificial intelligence is being woven into modern warfare decisions.
Why Is The Pentagon Defending Its Use Of Grok In Iran Strikes?
According to Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, Grok is one of four AI models currently capable of supporting national security applications, and one of three cleared for mission-critical operations in top secret settings.
This marks the first time an administration official has openly admitted that Musk’s AI played a role in bombing Iran, a disclosure that comes as several AI systems face scrutiny following strikes that killed hundreds of civilians, including children.
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Military investigators believe American forces were likely behind a strike on a girls’ school in Minab that killed at least 175 people, mostly children, the deadliest civilian casualty event since US and Israeli forces began their campaign against Iran in February.
Analysts say AI-driven targeting, combined with human error in verifying outdated target maps, may have contributed to the strike. Targets for the broader operation, dubbed Epic Fury, were identified using the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Maven Smart System, which organises intelligence data to assist officials, though it does not independently select targets.
What Comes Next For The Legal Fight Over xAI And Military AI Use?
The Pentagon’s filing was submitted as the Department of Justice asked a federal judge in Mississippi to dismiss a lawsuit from the NAACP, which accuses xAI of violating the Clean Air Act by running over 57 unpermitted gas turbines to power its Colossus 2 data centre. Stanley argued these facilities are vital for national security and energy capacity during potential conflicts.
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Separately, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is pushing legislation to keep human commanders in control of lethal decisions and ban AI from nuclear weapons and autonomous systems. “The most critical decisions affecting our national security and the lives of our service members must always be made by human beings, not unaccountable machines,” she said.
The Pentagon is also locked in a separate dispute with Anthropic after the company declined to guarantee its Claude model wouldn’t be used for surveillance or autonomous drones.
