Featured Image Credit: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / Contributor / Getty
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence revolution continues, with the world's richest man unveiling the next era of his Grok chatbot.
While OpenAI's ChatGPT feels like the more serious older sibling, Grok is a problematic little upstart that's known for running its mouth.
We recently saw this when Elon Musk was forced to address the issue of Grok seemingly praising Hitler, and while he'd hyped the new and improved chatbot, there have been some serious concerns about Grok's sometimes unhinged behaviour.
There are general fears about what artificial intelligence could do if it goes rogue, but shortly after Grok was accused of becoming obsessed with white genocide, Musk is trying to glaze over these recent dramas by announcing further updates.
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As well as hiring a full-time member of staff just to create Grok's new AI companions, Musk has teased that another one is on the way. Joining the anime-inspired woman called 'Ani' and a red panda called 'Rudi', the tech billionaire has explained how a male companion is joining the growing family of AI avatars.
Posting on X, Musk asked for potential names the unnamed guy should be called and then added: "His personality is inspired by Edward Cullen from Twilight and Christian Grey from 50 Shades."
Looking a bit like a Castlevania character, we can definitely see the Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey comparisons here. Musk has confirmed that even more are coming, and when someone else asked for a lookalike to Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy, he concluded: "We will, of course, have another character inspired by Mr. Darcy."
At a time when there are concerns about the potential psychological damage of falling for AI, romanticising these chatbots with male heartthrobs has raised a few eyebrows.
Let's not forget that Musk has confirmed the long-term goal of these AI companions is to help with falling birth rates.
Over on Reddit, many were worried about the way in which the world is heading. Slamming Grok's AI companions, one person said: "Real life has become unbelievably stupid lately."
Calling out Musk, another added: "He's got the mentality of a 12-year-old cringe meme lord."
A third made reference to Grok calling itself MechaHitler as they concluded: "MechaHitler wants to blow your mind."
More and more companies are releasing these AI companions, and while Grok looks poised to go hard on the idea, it's not the first tech giant to try it. Meta famously offered celebrity chatbots with the likeness of big names including Kendall Jenner and Snoop Dogg, reportedly paying one unnamed star $5 million.
The idea was something of a flop, as Mark Zuckerberg pulled the plug in less than a year.
Despite the complaints, there's a growing want and need for these AI companions, with more and more customizable ones expected to soon be in our lives. As for Grok, the only limit appears to be Musk's imagination when it comes to who or what will soon be spat out by the AI chatbot.
