Elon Musk SpaceX Reportedly Pursuing Pentagon Autonomous Drone Contract Despite Previous Pledges Against Lethal AI

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and xAI are reportedly competing for a Pentagon contract worth $100 million to develop voice-controlled autonomous drone swarm technology, marking a significant departure from Musk’s previously stated opposition to lethal autonomous weapons systems.

In 2017, Musk signed an open letter to the United Nations calling for a ban on autonomous weapons development. The letter warned that “we do not have long to act” and cautioned that “once this Pandora’s box is opened, it will be hard to close.” The following year, he signed a pledge by the Future of Life Institute stating that “the decision to take a human life should never be delegated to a machine” and committed to neither participating in nor supporting the development of lethal autonomous weapons.

According to Bloomberg, the Pentagon launched the contest last month through the Defence Autonomous Warfare Group and the Defence Innovation Unit, the latter being the department’s division focused on acquiring cutting-edge technology from Silicon Valley. The objective is to develop drone swarms capable of responding to voice commands simultaneously whilst operating autonomously in pursuit of targets.

Sources familiar with the matter indicated that whilst coordinated drone movement represents established technology, achieving autonomous operation of entire networks pursuing targets has proven exceptionally challenging in battlefield conditions. The programme will progress through five distinct phases, advancing from software development to real-world testing.

The drones will serve purposes beyond reconnaissance, according to Bloomberg’s sources, with human-machine interaction expected to “directly impact the lethality and effectiveness of these systems.” This represents a notable shift for SpaceX, which has previously secured government contracts for space access and military satellites rather than weapons systems.

Concerns regarding the integration of large language models in lethal autonomous systems persist amongst experts, particularly given the continued prevalence of AI hallucinations. The reliability of such technology in life-or-death scenarios remains a critical consideration.

Musk’s xAI has already secured a $200 million contract with the US military for use of its Grok chatbot and has been actively recruiting engineers with security clearance. The merger of xAI with SpaceX was described by Musk as creating “the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world’s foremost real-time information and free speech platform.” Notably, this statement made no reference to drone swarm development efforts.

This development emerges ahead of a rumoured SpaceX initial public offering at a reported valuation of $1.25 trillion. The market’s response to Musk’s apparent reversal on autonomous weapons systems remains uncertain, particularly given his previous public commitments to avoiding such technology.

The shift in position raises questions about the influence of lucrative government contracts on corporate ethics and the consistency of stated principles when confronted with substantial financial opportunities in the defence sector.