Latest news with #DefenseContract
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Pentagon Is Pumping $200 Million Into Elon Musk's AI That Just Had a Nazi Meltdown
Elon Musk's AI startup xAI has announced a nearly $200 million contract with the US Department of Defense for developing AI tools for the military. The news comes a week after xAI's foul-mouthed Grok chatbot had a full-blown Nazi meltdown, referring to itself as "MechaHitler" and making outrageously bigoted claims about Black and Jewish people. In a wordy statement that was thin on details, the DoD's chief digital and AI officer, Doug Matty, lauded the partnership as an important step forward for the US military. "Leveraging commercially available solutions into an integrated capabilities approach will accelerate the use of advanced AI as part of our joint mission-essential tasks in our warfighting domain as well as intelligence, business and enterprise information systems," Matty said. The announcement highlights how cozy Musk's relationship with the government has become, despite his major falling out with president Donald Trump. In May, Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency was heavily criticized for pushing the use of its Grok chatbot at the Department of Homeland Security without the required sign-offs, yet another example of the billionaire's glaring conflicts of interest. Its massive DoD contract could xAI a much-needed influx of cash. The startup has been burning through an astonishing $1 billion per month, forcing a seemingly desperate Musk to siphon off funds from his other businesses to keep it afloat. Apart from the DoD deal, xAI also announced a "Grok for Government" feature, designed to capture the Trump administration's considerable appetite for adopting AI. It also conveniently aligns with the administration's "anti-woke" agenda. Musk has been trying to push Grok to allegedly be "maximally truth seeking" in a purported effort to root out its "woke" tendencies, such as pointing out accurate reporting by trustworthy news sources. Instead, Musk has pushed the chatbot to echo his personal, right-wing extremist beliefs to a near-comical degree. Over the weekend, it emerged that Grok was searching Twitter and the web for Musk's personal views before making up its mind. In other words, the US military is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a chatbot that isn't just happily furthering unhinged conspiracy theories; it's started to act like Musk's own AI shadow, making it a highly questionable choice for the Department of Defense. More on Grok: Newest Version of Grok Looks Up What Elon Musk Thinks Before Giving an Answer Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Oshkosh Defense receives $167 million order from US Army for Heavy Tactical Vehicles
OSHKOSH – Oshkosh Defense has received another order from the U.S. Army to build 225 trucks and 54 trailers for $167 million under the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles contract. According to a news release from the Oshkosh Corp. subsidiary, the order includes HEMTT A4 variants and Pelletized Load System A2 that will help support the National Guard, Reserve, and the Program Executive Office Missiles and Space. Read more: US Air National Guard to be highlighted at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 'Through our valued partnership with the U.S. Army, we are proud to support the critical role of the National Guard and Reserve forces and enable the integration of next-generation defense capabilities,' Oshkosh Defense Chief Programs Officer Pat Williams said. 'These orders demonstrate the versatility of the FHTV fleet to fill diverse mission sets across all Army components and underscores Oshkosh's ability to deliver scalable, mission-ready solutions,' Williams added. The news follows a recent $95 million order from U.S. Army Contracting Command – Detroit Arsenal for the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles. Read more: Winnebago County tourism, driven by EAA & XRoads41, generated record-setting $574M in 2024 Oshkosh Defense also signed a three-year contract extension with the U.S. Army last month to continue building Medium Tactical Vehicles A2. That announcement came days after it was revealed Oshkosh Corporation offered temporary three-month layoffs to 51 union members to address overstaffing following what the company called 'the planned drawdown' in production of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@ and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville. This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh Defense nets $167M order for US Army Heavy Tactical Vehicles
