Elon Musk used biometric data from employees to program racy chatbot
Elon Musk aimed to make xAI’s Grok chatbot the most widely used in the world, believing that a female AI named Ani would play a central role in achieving that goal. To train this highly sexualized chatbot, Musk reportedly instructed his staff to provide their biometric data, contributing to an accelerated AI development campaign.
After a falling out with the president that led to his departure from the White House, Musk dedicated himself fully to work at xAI. According to The Wall Street Journal, he based himself in the company’s Palo Alto office, often working late into the night and occasionally sleeping there to advance Grok’s capabilities.
Meanwhile, Sam Altman of OpenAI continued to lead America’s push in a high-stakes AI race with China to develop advanced artificial general intelligence. Within this competitive context, Musk’s efforts focused on catching up technologically and commercially.
According to company lawyer Lily Lim, xAI was developing multiple avatars designed to interact with users of Grok. Among them was Ani, described by PC Magazine as a “sexy, NSFW, anime AI chatbotgirl.” Employees were required to provide their biometric data—such as facial and vocal features—to train the chatbots in realistic human behavior.
“Employees were ordered to sign a form granting xAI ‘a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, royalty-free license’ over their faces and voices.” — The Wall Street Journal
Industry Context
- Rival AI companies, notably OpenAI, continue leading development of advanced machine learning models.
- Musk’s reentry into the AI field followed his attempt to close the gap with competitors.
- The internal use of sensitive employee data raised ethical and privacy questions.
Sources
- The Wall Street Journal
- PC Magazine
Author’s summary: Musk’s pursuit to dominate the AI market through xAI’s Grok chatbot led to controversial use of employee biometric data, reflecting the rising tension in global AI competition.