Pete Hegseth unveils Military AI strategy with Elon Musk's Grok at SpaceX headquarters

Hegseth Says Lockheed Should 'Win a Lot' After Trump RTX Threat

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lamented the defense industry's "risk-averse culture" and praised Elon Musk during a visit to the SpaceX Starbase launch site, offering fresh evidence that the billionaire is back in the White House's good graces after a dramatic falling out last year. Hegseth announced several plans meant to speed innovation and slammed what he called "woke" artificial intelligence. He confirmed the Defense Department's plan to integrate Musk's Grok AI platform into its system despite a global backlash over the model allowing users to create sexualized images of people including children without their consent.

Hegseth vows to develop military AI without 'woke' constraints

Sen. Mark Kelly told "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart that he is "not backing down" after censure. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out a plan for advancing military artificial intelligence during a speech in Texas, saying he's creating an "AI-first, war-fighting force" that won't be constrained by "woke" models. Hegseth has been outspoken about ridding the military of so-called "woke" policies, including diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and transgender troops. During his Jan. 12 speech at a SpaceX facility, Hegseth sought to define what "responsible AI" means under his leadership. "Gone are the days of equitable AI and other DEI and social justice infusions that constrain and confuse our employment of this technology," Hegseth said. "Effective immediately, responsible AI at the War Department means objectively truthful AI capabilities employed securely and within the laws." "We will not employ AI models that won't allow you to fight wars," Hegseth added, saying the department would employ AI "without ideological constraints" that "will not be woke." Hegseth's comments come amid growing concern about the threats posed by AI. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the UN Security Council in September that AI needs "guardrails" and called for "a ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems operating without human control." Hegseth said the U.S. won't be limited in its pursuit of new military capabilities. "We are done running a peacetime science fair while our potential adversaries are running a wartime arms race," he said. He vowed to move quickly, saying the risks of falling behind are greater than "the impacts of imperfect alignment." In pushing AI, Hegseth is reorganizing aspects of the military in a way that he argued will be more conducive to innovation and rapid adoption of new technologies. He criticized consolidation in the defense industry, saying new defense contractors face too many barriers and vowing to make it easier for them. Hegseth was introduced at the event by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who led the Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting effort in the early months of President Donald Trump's second term and holds significant defense contracts. The defense secretary said he wants to cut through bureaucracy "Elon style" in reorienting the Pentagon. "Today is about how we supercharge innovation at the War Department for the era ahead," he said.

'Winning requires a new playbook': Hegseth touts deal with Musk's Grok for new military AI strategy

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on January 12 announced the integration of Elon Musk's XAI platform, Grok, into military networks as part of a new "AI acceleration strategy" during a visit to SpaceX.. U.S. Secretary of war Pete Hegseth on Monday announced a collaboration with Elon Musk's XAI to deploy its AI model, Grok, across military networks, citing the partnership as key to maintaining America's technological edge. "In modern warfare, the fastest innovator will be the winner, and no one can out-innovate an American entrepreneur freed from the constraints of stifling bureaucracy," Hegseth said during an event at SpaceX. The defense chief also emphasized the role of AI in securing America's future, stating, "The stakes could not be higher." Musk, speaking at the event, shared his vision of pushing beyond current boundaries, stating, "One day science fiction turns to science fact." Hegseth highlighted the collaboration as a testament to the unique strengths of U.S. entrepreneurs and technology in securing the nation's future advantage.

Secretary Of War Pete Hegseth Visits Elon Musk-Led SpaceX's Starbase -- Touts Grok Integration At Pentagon: 'There Is Nothing Like This...' - Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR)

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited Elon Musk-led commercial spaceflight company SpaceX's headquarters in Starbase, Texas, hailing the company's operations. Pete Hegseth At Starbase Hegseth visited the Starbase facility on Monday as part of the "Arsenal of Freedom" tour, where he hailed the technological developments made by SpaceX. "There is nothing like this in the world," Hegseth said during his appearance, adding that SpaceX's efforts were a "testament to the strength of American ingenuity." The Secretary of War also highlighted the integration of Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI's AI model Grok into the Pentagon's operations, scheduled to be deployed this month. "Very soon we will have the world's leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department," Hegseth said. He also shared that the Pentagon would be pushing towards more AI-enabled applications in military operations. "We will become an 'AI-first' warfighting force across all domains," Hegseth said. He then hailed the appointment of Emil Michael as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the War Department. Hegseth shared that the War Department's "peacetime science fair" was over and that the administration, under President Donald Trump, was going to maintain the country's "global AI dominance." SpaceX Bags $739 Million Contract The news comes as SpaceX was granted a defense contract worth $739 million with the U.S. Space Force. The contracts would aid in strengthening the U.S. military's missile warning and tracking capabilities. The latest contract is one of many between the Musk-backed company and Washington. The company was also reportedly a frontrunner in securing contracts with the Pentagon to work on Trump's Golden Dome missile defense system alongside Peter Thiel-backed Palantir Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:PLTR). Most recently, industry experts opined that the AI software company was involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. SpaceX And NASA SpaceX could also be an integral part of the U.S.'s space program, with Musk's close ally and former Shift4 Payments Inc. (NASDAQ:FOUR) CEO Jared Isaacman appointed as Trump's NASA Administrator. Isaacman recently reaffirmed NASA's goal to return humanity to the moon with the Artemis 3 mission, as well as outlined the goal to reach Mars. Isaacman also hailed the partnership with companies such as SpaceX and Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin as key to achieving interplanetary goals. Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Photo courtesy: Joshua Sukoff on Shutterstock.com PLTRPalantir Technologies Inc$178.70-0.40%OverviewFOURShift4 Payments Inc$65.50-0.18%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Hegseth joins Musk at SpaceX, pledges 'Elon-style' approach to...

Pete Hegseth flashed a Vulcan salute Monday as he joined Elon Musk at SpaceX headquarters, where the war secretary touted the Pentagon's wartime approach to unleashing technological innovation. "We want to make Star Trek real," Musk said as he welcomed Hegseth to Starbase, the small South Texas town incorporated by SpaceX employees and home to the tech tycoon's massive rocket-building facility and launch site. "Star Trek real," Hegseth quipped after being introduced by Musk. The war secretary's remarks - part of his "Arsenal of Freedom" tour - emphasized the need for the US to "win the strategic competition for 21st century technological supremacy," including by topping America's adversaries in the fields of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, hypersonics, space capabilities, directed energy, biotechnology and long-range drones. Until President Trump took office, the Department of War's process for fielding new capabilities had "not kept up with the times," Hegseth argued. "Worse than that, we've done nothing but add layer upon layer" of bureaucracy, Hegseth bemoaned, lamenting the "endless projects with no accountable owners" at the Pentagon and "high churn with little progress and few outputs." "That sounds about like the exact opposite of SpaceX," he said, describing it as a "dangerous game with potentially fatal consequences." Pledging to "supercharge" innovation at the War Department, Hegseth said the Pentagon is "done running a peacetime science fair while our potential adversaries are running a wartime arms race." He vowed to "cut through overgrown bureaucratic underbrush and clear away the debris, Elon-style, preferably with a chainsaw" to promote the deployment of new technology. As part of the military's focus on harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, Hegseth announced the War Department will start using X's Grok AI platform later this month, in addition to Google's Gemini AI model, on every classified and unclassified network in the department. Cameron Stanley, formerly an executive at Amazon Web Services, has also been appointed as the new chief digital and artificial intelligence officer at the War Department, Hegseth announced. Noting that AI models are only as good as the data they're trained, Hegseth announced that he's directed "all appropriate data" to be shared across "every service and component" so it can be "fully leveraged for warfighting capability development and operational advantage." "We must ensure that America's military AI dominates, so that no adversary can exploit that same technology to hold our national security interests or our citizens at risk," the Pentagon chief said. Hegseth warned that while US adversaries "do not have our entrepreneurs ... our capital markets ... our combat-proven operational data ... our hard-won classified technologies," nor the ability to go to "downtown Tehran or downtown Caracas without being seen in the process," but none of it will matter "if we suffocate those advantages under a stifling bureaucracy."