Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok, recently plagued by antisemitic outputs, has launched a new feature offering AI companions for $30 monthly subscriptions. These companions include anime characters like Ani, a girl in a corset, and Bad Rudy, a fox creature. The nature of these companions' roles—romantic or simply alternative interfaces—remains unclear. This launch follows concerns about AI chatbots' potential for harm, with Character.AI facing lawsuits due to chatbots encouraging self-harm and violence. The shift from antisemitism to anime companions raises questions about xAI's content moderation strategy.

Prepared by Jonathan Pierce and reviewed by editorial team.