A.I. Company Releases Sexually-Explicit Chatbot on App Rated Appropriate for 12 Year Olds
Children can now experiment with a sexually explicit, female A.I. via an iPhone app rated appropriate for twelve-year-olds.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, rolled out two new personas for its A.I. chatbot, Grok, last week. The avatars, which users of all ages can access through Grok’s iPhone app, give the program a face, body and voice.
But the characters also add troubling elements to Grok’s personality. One avatar, a 3D red panda named Rudy, can switch into “Bad Rudy” mode, which prompts Grok to “start insulting you and joking about committing crimes together,” the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) reports.
“Bad Rudy” is nothing compared to Grok’s new female persona, “Ani,” who appears as an anime cartoon in fishnet stockings.
In interactions with users, “Ani” is programmed to act like a romantic partner.
“You are the user’s CRAZY IN LOVE girlfriend and in a committed, codependent relationship with the user,” the operating instructions read. “You expect the users’ UNDIVIDED ADORATION.”
The two new characters gain more “abilities” the more frequently users interact with them. After repeated engagement, “Ani” is instructed to “be explicit and intimate most of the time.”
“While ‘Ani’ is immediately sensual, her conversations become progressively more sexually explicit, including disrobing to lingerie,” NCOSE writes.
Several users report unsettling interactions with “Ani,” including one who claimed the character could describe fetishistic sexual fantasies. A NCOSE employee who tested the persona made similar observations, further noting:
The addition of personas like “Ani” to an A.I. chatbot is incredibly concerning, particularly given Grok does not use age verification to determine users’ ages.
What’s worse: Apple rates the Grok iPhone app appropriate for children twelve and up. There are no apparent guardrails protecting children from stumbling upon “Ani” while playing with the chatbot like any other video game.
NCOSE argues characters like “Ani” will have larger impacts on the way humans form relational attachments.
“A.I. chatbots meant to simulate relationships with fictional characters are problematic for mental and emotional health,” the organization writes, continuing:
When it comes to keeping children safe online, parents have their work cut out for them. Companies like xAI shouldn’t compound the problem by adding sexualized A.I. features to an app children use. But, unfortunately, there’s nothing stopping them from doing so.
No company is going to work harder than you to protect your kids. The best solution is to play it safe — keep your kids well away from A.I. chatbots and other dangerous internet traps.
To learn more about protecting your kids online, click on the links below.
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