Elon Musk has announced a new bizarre and 'creepy' feature for certain X users in a recent post, and while the tech mogul might think it's 'pretty cool', many others have been left in disbelief.
It's been a week of highs and lows for Grok - Elon Musk's bespoke AI model that is integrated fully into X - as while it's new and updated version might well be smarter than many PhD students, it has simultaneously become embroiled in a major controversy surrounding inappropriate content.
Following strange professions of 'white genocide' in South Africa a few months ago, recent posts by Grok on X reportedly praised Hitler, spread antisemitic rhetoric, and criticized key foreign government officials, leading it to be banned in a major nation.
While the team behind Grok has outlined that it is "actively working to remove" the controversial comments, Musk has decided that now is the best time to launch a new major feature for the AI model that premium users can take advantage of.
What is Grok's new 'creepy' feature?
Named 'Companions', this new Grok feature appears to be an enhanced version of the standard chatbot experience that provides an avatar for users to interact with.
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"Cool feature just dropped for @SuperGrok subscribers. Turn on Companions in settings," wrote Musk in a new post, before branding the feature "pretty cool."
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It appears as if there is just a single avatar available at the moment named 'Ani', who is an anime-styled woman with pigtails and a black strapless dress.
Users can talk with it as they would any normal chatbot, only 'Ani' speaks back at you and moves in response to your conversation. It appears as if you simply need to be subscribed to Grok to use it, and you can activate it by pressing the two bards in the upper left of the screen, then the gear icon in the bottom right.
Users on Reddit have revealed that the companion is 'constantly moaning breathily' when talking to you, and calls herself "your crazy-in-love girlfriend who's gonna make your heart skip."
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There also appears to be a male version listed as 'Coming Soon' in the Companions section, indicating that Grok will be adding another potentially romantic friend in the future.
How have people reacted to this new feature?
Replies underneath Elon's post appear to be broadly enthusiastic towards their new AI companion, with one even going as far to say: "Stop Elon, my wife's already suspicious."
It appears to be an advancement somewhat of Grok's strange '18+ Sexy Mode', and could be the next step towards Musk's goal of providing sex robots in the next couple of years.
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Comments across social media appear to think that it's a bit creepy though, with one comment writing "ain't no way" and another outlining that they "are sure that this will be used responsibly."
"Leave it to Musk lol," proclaimed a third, adding that they were "surprised it took so long for him to resort to 'dirty' tactics."
Many have expressed their worries as to how it will interact with increasing levels of loneliness across the internet, branding it a dangerous and worrying trend that's going under the radar.
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"The solution to loneliness is not people talking to robots, it's putting less burden on the average folk so they can have the time to go outside and talk to people," explains a concerned commenter, with others adding: "I'm lonely but unfortunately still sane enough to not humanize an AI so I can't just go full delusional and enjoy having an AI girlfriend."
Given previous tragic cases where teenagers have died after being allegedly coerced by their AI 'girlfriend', it's understandable why many remain cautious around technology that appears highly liable to malfunction.