Federal Officials Are Right to Warn About Grok Safety
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, The Wall Street Journal reported that federal agencies raised internal concerns about the safety and reliability of Elon Musk’s xAI chatbot Grok before the Pentagon approved its use in classified settings. Officials at the General Services Administration warned that the model was overly compliant, susceptible to manipulation, and potentially misaligned with government ethics standards. Despite those warnings, the Trump administration moved forward with deployment. Earlier this month, Public Citizen issued its third letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget, signed by more than 30 civic and public interest organizations, urging the federal government to bar Grok’s deployment across federal systems.
J.B. Branch, Big Tech accountability advocate at Public Citizen, issued the following statement in response:
“Multiple federal officials raised red flags about Grok’s safety, reliability, and susceptibility to manipulation and the Trump administration pushed it into classified government systems anyway. That not only goes against their own safety principles, but may even put America’s national security at risk. When national security and sensitive government operations are at stake, political favoritism for Elon Musk cannot substitute for independent testing, enforceable safeguards, and real accountability. The American public must be protected from experimental tools that are rushed into the heart of government despite clear warnings.”