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xAI Was About to Land a Major Government Contract. Then Grok Praised Hitler
Internal emails obtained by WIRED show a hasty process to onboard OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI providers to the federal government. xAI was on the list—until MechaHilter happened.
On May 15, fresh off a whirlwind trip to the Middle East with President Donald Trump, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sent an email to the leadership team at the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency that manages government technology. “It was irresponsible of the administration to issue an executive order that required such a fast turnaround to get those implementation memos out,” because it meant that the government was unable to consult with the significant number of stakeholders that they would otherwise have, says a former White House official who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity. One of the first executive orders signed by Trump prompted agencies to reverse any rules inhibiting the growth and dominance of American AI, kicking off a mad dash amongst administration leaders to find new ways to incorporate the tech into everything.
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