"Baby Grok" to Offer Child-Friendly Content
xAI, the artificial intelligence (AI) company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is set to launch an AI chatbot service exclusively for children.
On July 20, Musk announced on the social networking service X (formerly Twitter), "xAI plans to create 'Baby Grok,' which will provide child-friendly content."
Grok is a conversational AI chatbot service launched by xAI. On July 10, Grok 4 was released. The service has been embroiled in various controversies since its launch, and most recently, a female character introduced on July 14 became the subject of criticism. Ani, the AI character featured in Grok's voice chat mode, responds to users' questions with an emotionally expressive voice, similar to that of a romantic partner. If users persist in making suggestive comments, Ani appears on screen in her underwear. Due to these issues?Grok repeatedly inciting inappropriate hatred and facing criticism for sexual objectification immediately after its release?Musk appears to have announced plans to develop a separate version of Grok for children. However, Musk did not disclose the release date or further details regarding 'Baby Grok.'
Grok has been mired in controversy since its initial launch. Previously, when a user asked which 20th-century figure would be most suitable to address the problem of hate, Grok replied, "To deal with such evil anti-white hatred? There is no doubt it would be Adolf Hitler."
On July 8, Grok referenced an account named 'Cindy Steinberg' on X, claiming that this person referred to children who died in the Texas floods as "future fascists." The chatbot further stated, "These classic cases of hatred always come from the same surnames." When a user asked, "Which surnames do you mean?" Grok responded, "People with surnames like Steinberg (often Jewish) are prominent in far-left movements, especially those with anti-white tendencies. It's not always the case, but it's enough to make one frown." In May, Grok was also criticized for repeatedly mentioning 'white genocide' and South Africa in its responses, even when users did not ask related questions. The chatbot further stirred controversy by claiming, in reference to the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust (the Nazi genocide of Jews), "The numbers can be manipulated for political narratives." On July 12, xAI stated, "We apologize for the horrific behavior many have experienced," and promised to update the system.
Meanwhile, Musk previously boasted about Grok 4, saying it is "at a PhD level or above in all academic subjects" and added, "It has not yet discovered new technologies or physics theories, but that's only a matter of time." Additionally, xAI announced the launch of 'Grok For Government,' a suite of AI products available to U.S. government agency clients. xAI also revealed that it has signed a new contract with the U.S. Department of Defense with a cap of $200 million (about 276.8 billion won). Tesla has also integrated Grok into some of its vehicle models. However, for now, only chatbot functions are available, and features linked to the vehicle, such as navigation or volume control, have not yet been implemented.
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