“I write regarding my concerns about the Department of Defense’s (DoD) reported decision to allow Elon Musk’s xAI to access classified systems despite concerns raised by multiple federal agencies, including the National Security Agency (NSA) and the General Services Agency (GSA),” Warren wrote.
“I am concerned that Grok’s apparent lack of adequate guardrails could pose serious risks to the safety of U.S. military personnel and to the cybersecurity of classified systems,” she added, “especially if Grok is given sensitive military information and access to operational systems.”
The National Security Agency, Warren's letter notes, "conducted a classified review" and "determined Grok had particular security concerns that other models didn't." The General Services Administration raised similar alarms.
“Were Grok to leak government information, this could reveal sensitive military plans, U.S. intelligence efforts, and potentially put service members in danger,” Warren wrote.
Neither concern appears to have slowed anything down.
“It is unclear what assurances or documentation xAI has provided to the Department of Defense about Grok’s security safeguards, data-handling practices, or safety controls, and whether DoD has evaluated those assurances before reportedly allowing Grok access to classified systems,” the letter reads.
There are no records of xAI questioning the reach of the "all lawful purposes" standard. OpenAI was more diplomatic about it, establishing some boundaries on a server level.
Warren is asking Hegseth to respond by March 30 with the full text of the xAI agreement, all internal communications about the deal, and answers on whether any testing or evaluation took place before access was granted. One of her 10 questions asks directly whether safeguards exist to ensure Grok does not cause "erroneous targeting decisions" if deployed in critical operational systems.
