Grok AI to be used heavily in Musk's DOGE, and it's putting out fire with gasoline

The sole mention of Elon Musk's name is enough to get (some) people (very) agitated and now, there's one more reason for them to get the fire started.

A recent report reveals that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team is expanding the use of its AI chatbot, Grok, within US federal agencies. Critics are raising concerns over privacy, ethics, and potential legal violations.

According to several sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters, Grok – a generative AI tool developed by Musk's company xAI – is being used to analyze government data, including sensitive information. This development has drawn criticism from experts who warn that such use could breach conflict-of-interest laws and jeopardize the security and confidentiality of data belonging to millions of Americans.



Sources suggest that DOGE has employed a customized version of Grok to improve data processing and reporting, encouraging some agencies like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to adopt the tool despite it not having official approval. While DHS has denied that DOGE pressured staff to use Grok, the expansion of this technology into federal systems marks a significant shift in how the government handles sensitive information.

Experts warn that if confidential data has been input into Grok, it could violate privacy regulations and potentially provide Musk with privileged access to valuable government data, raising concerns about unfair competitive advantages and data misuse.

At this point, I'm personally questioning whether any data out there – and I mean any – is not at the disposal of large government agencies and individuals. That's not an argument for giving up on privacy, of course. That's just me being cynical.

Musk's xAI, still relatively new compared to established AI companies like OpenAI, openly states that Grok users may be monitored for "specific business purposes". This stance, combined with DOGE's broad access to protected government databases, has alarmed privacy advocates. Typically, federal data sharing is subject to strict oversight and regulatory controls to protect personal information and national security. Using AI tools like Grok to analyze such data could undermine these protections, especially if the data is used to train AI models or accessed by private companies, the concerned critics are saying.

This isn't the first time someone is accusing Big Tech of being dangerously close to the government – and it certainly won't be the last time, not in the foreseeable future. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt and President Obama's bromance was also widely criticized some years ago. Schmidt served on Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. While there was no proven legal conflict, some watchdogs and journalists questioned whether Schmidt's government advisory role could lead to conflicts between public policy and Google's corporate interests.