Another day, another announcement by tech billionaire Elon Musk that makes one shudder on the inside.
This time, it's the "companions" of Elon Musk's AI business xAI. The AI companion bots were just made public, and now Musk has disclosed how one of the characters was inspired, which made everyone cringe at his choices.
Among the new AI anime chatbots are a vulgar red panda named Bad Rudi and a sexualized blonde anime bot named "Ani." There has been criticism since the Grok companions were released because they are part of the Grok app, which the App Store states is only accessible by individuals 12 years of age and up.
Some are pointing out that the bots, accessible by literal children, will have a negative effect. Others said that it's really only pandering to men—the type who might be really into a sexualized AI bot.
Have no fear, though, as Musk had already thought of the women on Grok. A masculine figure with droopy black hair and an angular, brooding visage has also been introduced.
Musk's reveal of his inspiration had people feeling secondhand cringe so hard.
Edward Cullen, for those in the enviable place of not knowing, is the vampire love interest in the Twilight book and movie series. He is noted for his angst, borderline stalker behavior, and controlling personality.
Christian Grey is the romantic interest in 50 Shades of Grey, a published loose fanfiction of the Twilight series that swept the world with its frank—and often disputed—depiction of a BDSM relationship. He was also known for being kind of weird and borderline abusive, depending on who you ask.
For Musk to pick those two characters seemed absurd and more than a little embarrassing.
People were immediately off put by the level of cringe in the entire fiasco.
Not only was it deeply cringe, it also felt like such an immature set of choices.
Some had other suggestions.
Musk, a fierce pro-natalist, supports more children being born, especially to already well-off folks who can presumably support large families.
All in all, this was a pretty polarizing choice, and one that even Grok users aren't super happy with.
At present, the anime companions are available only on the Grok app.
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