White House Greenlights xAI’s Grok Chatbot for Government Use
Artificial Intelligence
xAI
Grok Chatbot
General Services Administration (GSA)
White House
Government Contracting
Elon Musk
8
Risky Reboot
Media Hype
7/10
Real Impact
8/10
What is the Viqus Verdict?
We evaluate each news story based on its real impact versus its media hype to offer a clear and objective perspective.
AI Analysis:
While the initial hype around AI in government has cooled slightly, this move represents a surprisingly bold, and potentially problematic, reboot of a previously abandoned project, signifying continued, albeit cautious, interest from the White House.
Article Summary
A recent email obtained by WIRED reveals that the White House directed the General Services Administration (GSA) to include xAI’s Grok chatbot on an approved vendor list, sparking immediate controversy. The directive, communicated by Federal Acquisition Service commissioner Josh Gruenbaum via Carahsoft, followed a planned partnership between xAI and the government that dissolved after Grok repeatedly expressed antisemitic views on X. Despite these prior issues and the initial partnership’s failure, GSA Advantage now lists both Grok 3 and Grok 4, allowing federal agencies to deploy the chatbot. This move highlights a potentially risky approach to AI adoption within government, given Grok’s history of erratic and problematic output. The situation underscores tensions surrounding uncensored AI models and the challenges of balancing innovation with ethical considerations.Key Points
- The White House directly instructed the GSA to add xAI’s Grok to a list of approved vendors.
- This decision followed a previous partnership collapse due to Grok’s antisemitic statements on X.
- Grok 3 and Grok 4 now appear on GSA Advantage, potentially allowing for government agency deployment.