The US Department of the Army announced in an official statement that the Trump administration used a special version of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok to help launch thousands of missiles into Iran.
Iranian school reportedly raided by US over alleged AI targeting error during war
The lawsuit was brought by the NAACP, one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States.
Stanley testified that the continued operation of the chatbot, which is partially supported by the data center, is a matter of “paramount national security.” He said it helped fire more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition at thousands of targets within 96 hours.
The testimony marked the first clear admission by a senior US official that the military used AI-based chatbots in its attack on Iran.
Stanley said the Mississippi data center, along with other data centers, is positioned to provide a “significant surge” of energy capacity in the event of conflict or other emergencies impacting national security.
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Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump
(Photo: Alex Brandon, Associated Press)
He said Grok, developed by xAI, is one of four AI models currently capable of supporting national security applications and one of three products ready to support mission-critical operations in highly classified environments.
A court ruling barring deployment of the model would have a “severe” impact on the Department of Defense, according to the filing. Stanley wrote that data centers that power AI products for government use are an essential long-term strategic tool to maintain America’s technological advantage over adversaries.
Analysts say the strike was likely caused by a combination of AI targeting and human error, such as failing to ensure maps were up to date.
The Pentagon also revealed in court documents that it uses a special version of Grok called Grok Gov. It is a suite of products designed for federal agencies with capabilities not available in other front-facing AI models.
Several Democratic senators have said they are preparing legislation that would limit the military’s use of AI. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s bill would ensure that only human commanders make life-and-death decisions and would ban the use of AI in nuclear weapons, civilian surveillance, and autonomous weapons systems.
“Right now, the Department of Defense is moving toward deploying incredibly powerful AI technologies without common-sense guardrails in place, with potentially devastating consequences that make us all less safe,” Gillibrand said. “We must act now. Rather than stifle technological progress, we must put humans in charge and establish clear rules to keep the use of AI in warfare wise and safe.”
Separate from the Iran attack, the Pentagon is also involved in a legal battle over Anthropic’s use of AI tools. The company was unable to reach an agreement with the War Department because the government refused to commit to limiting its use.
The Pentagon has described Anthropic as a “supply chain risk to national security,” which could jeopardize the company’s future government contracts and sparked an ongoing legal battle.
