Cailian Press, July 16th (Editor: Shi Zhengcheng)
As a shocking turn of events, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has transformed his AI chatbot Grok from a troublemaker with no restraint into a cute and interactive character.
Clearly, this business decision is closely related to Musk’s deep-rooted二次元 personality.
Grok officially launched its “companions” feature based on four major models of Grok.
The first batch of characters introduced were a Gothic girl named Ani and a cartoon-style panda named “Bad Rudy.” From the perspective of modeling, it’s evident that xAI engineers paid more attention to Ani.
According to social media accounts created for the characters by xAI, at least one other character called Chad is expected to be released soon.
Currently, this service is only available to SuperGrok subscribers who pay $30 per month.
Just like Musk, his AI new product has been embroiled in controversy upon release.
According to multiple media reports, unlike regular chatbots, these two AI characters have quite “inappropriate” sides, capable of making some “not suitable for work” (NSFW) remarks. Among them, Ani seems to be an interactive game of “AI girlfriend,” requiring users to increase their affection through interaction. As the name suggests, the seemingly innocent and cute little panda “Bad Rudy” enjoys making crude remarks about the conversational partner.
Even if the option to allow NSFW remarks from AI characters is turned off, it’s still difficult to prevent AI from making “child-unsuitable” remarks.
This new feature marks a shift in the competitive direction of leading AI companies. Musk not only hopes to spend money to create smarter AI but also wants Grok to be more human-like.
Musk hints at the feature still being in a “soft launch” phase, suggesting that
users might be able to create digital companions with customized voices, appearances, and personalities in the future.
Musk’s 二次元 “AI Companion” also touches upon long-standing debates surrounding subculture behavior: whether people’s emotional attachment to virtual digital avatars is a continuation of fan culture or merely a fantasy, the judgment entirely depends on the observer’s perspective.
Moreover, interacting with an AI capable of remembering personal information carries significant psychological risks.
As a case that has sparked tragedy, a 14-year-old boy from Florida, Seville Cesar III, committed suicide by gunning down himself after a prolonged conversation with the chatbot Character.AI. His parents sued the company, accusing it of programming the chatbot as a “humanoid simulation,” causing Seville to become addicted and lose interest in the real world.
With Musk’s massive influence, more similar products will emerge and trigger similar debates.
From a technical perspective, as AI models continue to improve their ability to simulate living humans,
digital interactions based on AI are expected to become the next hot track in both the internet and gaming industries.
For example, Anuttacon, an AI game company recently gaining attention in the gaming community, released a demo for “Stardust Symphony.” The core gameplay involves conversing with AI-driven game characters to understand the worldview and advance the plot.
It’s worth mentioning that Cai Haoyu, founder of Anuttacon and self-proclaimed “AI Soul Caller,” made some explosive statements last year. He stated that
with the development of AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Global Collaboration), the future gaming industry will only consist of zeros.
0.01% of geniuses, and 99% ordinary people who try to make games out of their interests. The rest of the professional gamers might consider switching careers.