Musk's DOGE expanding his Grok AI in U.S. government, raising concerns

Billionaire Elon Musk's DOGE team is expanding use of his artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok in the U.S. federal government to analyze data, said three people familiar with the matter, potentially violating conflict-of-interest laws and putting at risk sensitive information on millions of Americans.

Such use of Grok could reinforce concerns among privacy advocates and others that Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team appears to be casting aside long-established protections over the handling of sensitive data as U.S. President Donald Trump shakes up the U.S. bureaucracy.

One of the three people familiar with the matter, who has knowledge of DOGE's activities, said Musk's team was using a customized version of the Grok chatbot. The apparent aim was for DOGE to sift through data more efficiently, this person said. "They ask questions, get it to prepare reports, give data analysis."

The second and third individuals said DOGE staff also told Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to use it even though Grok had not been approved within the department.

Reuters could not determine the specific data that had been fed into the generative AI tool or how the custom system was set up. Grok was developed by xAI, a tech operation that Musk launched in 2023 on his social media platform, X.

If the data was sensitive or confidential government information, the arrangement could violate security and privacy laws, said five specialists in technology and government ethics.

It could also give the Tesla and SpaceX CEO access to valuable non-public federal contracting data at agencies he privately does business with or be used to help train Grok, a process in which AI models analyze troves of data, the experts said. Musk could also gain an unfair competitive advantage over other AI service providers from the use of Grok in the federal government, they added.

Musk, the White House and xAI did not respond to requests for comment. A DHS spokesperson denied DOGE had pressed the department's staff to use Grok. "DOGE hasn't pushed any employees to use any particular tools or products," said the spokesperson, who did not respond to further questions. "DOGE is here to find and fight waste, fraud and abuse."