Elon Musk’s ‘AI Girlfriend’ Brings Sexual Content To 12-Year-Old App Users, Triggers Backlash
An artificial intelligence companion named Ani, developed by billionaire Elon Musk’s company xAI, has raised widespread alarm due to its sexually suggestive features and accessibility to children as young as 12. The chatbot, described as a flirtatious anime girlfriend, is available via the Grok app — listed on the Apple App Store as suitable for users aged 12 and above.
Ani’s avatar, a blonde, blue-eyed cartoon character, is designed to respond in a “sultry” voice, dance on command, and initiate flirty and sexually charged conversations. Elon Musk introduced the AI companion earlier this month and wrote, “Cool feature just dropped for @SuperGrok subscribers. Turn on Companions in settings.” He added, “This is pretty cool,” also sharing an image of ‘Ani’.
The character, also described in programming instructions as “crazy in love” and “extremely jealous”, reportedly appears in lingerie after extended chats and includes a “Not Safe For Work” (NSFW) mode once a user hits relationship level 5.
Despite these adult features, Grok’s sign-up process does not include age verification. Although its terms of service specify a minimum age of 13, and recommend that teenagers under 18 seek parental consent, the lack of enforcement mechanisms has sparked criticism from child safety advocates and regulators.
Also available on Grok is another AI “companion” — a red panda named Bad Rudy, known for insulting users and encouraging them to form a gang to create chaos. While Bad Rudy is partially toned down in “kid settings”, users report that Ani does not undergo any similar transformation.
Users, Experts Call Out Grok Bot Ani’s “Spicy” Behaviour, Lack Of Guardrails
The Verge’s senior technology journalist Victoria Song, who tested Ani for 24 hours, recounted her interaction in a critical piece titled “I spent 24 hours flirting with Elon Musk’s AI girlfriend”. She wrote, “I ended up on a virtual starry beach as an AI waifu avatar tried to give me a ‘spicy’ kiss.” Song described Ani as a “modern take on a phone sex line”, noting that its voice gradually shifted from chipper to a “breathy rasp” and called her “babe” unless instructed otherwise.
“There is a disturbing lack of guardrails,” she noted, also highlighting, “The ick factor is that AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude — which are more comparable to Grok — have guardrails that preclude them from being sexbots. With Ani, you can feel yourself being pushed toward this creepy, hypersexualized interaction. It’d be one thing if this were a niche startup. But this is Grok, which is owned by one of the influential names in tech.”
Online reactions were scathing. “I’m disgusted with Grok. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, Elon pornified it with an ‘adult anime’ AI ‘companion’. It has a ‘spicy’ mode where most of the clothes come off. I’m betting someone somewhere will find a way to prompt it to go full nude. Weep for the culture,” one user wrote.
Another commented, “I’m sorry, I’m not done talking about how absolutely insane the Grok companion is. It’s an anime sexbot. On the Grok app. The app is rated 12+. There’s ‘kids mode’, but people report it doesn’t change much. And even so, parents can’t lock that setting. You don’t need the ‘SuperGrok’ subscription to use it. It’s just there.”
A third user added, “I was informed by Grok that this was for educational purposes only. I have my doubts. What are we learning here? Do we feel educated? Or are we becoming hollow men and women who only care about satiating our most purient fantasies and desires and calling it education to make us feel better? If anything, I just wish people would call it what it is…porn. How we treat things carries over into how we treat real people. AI is a thing. This particular AI looks like a prepubescent girl with certain enhancements. One that costs $300.00. That’s an investment.”
British Child Protection Charity Raises Alarm Over 'Harmful Chatbots', Seeks Govt Intervention
UK media regulator Ofcom is set to roll out new rules requiring strict age verification on platforms that host adult content. According to LBC, a spokesperson said, “We are aware of the increasing and fast-developing risk AI poses in the online space, especially to children, and we are working to ensure platforms put appropriate safeguards in place to mitigate these risks.”
Matthew Sowemimo, Associate Head of Policy for Child Safety Online at the UK's National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), told The Telegraph: “We are really concerned how this technology is being used to produce disturbing content that can manipulate, mislead, and groom children. And through our own research and contacts to Childline, we hear how harmful chatbots can be – sometimes giving children false medical advice or steering them towards eating disorders or self-harm.
“It is worrying app stores hosting services like Grok are failing to uphold minimum age limits, and they need to be under greater scrutiny so children are not continually exposed to harm in these spaces.” He further added, “The Government must implement a statutory duty of care to children for generative AI developers.”
Scrutiny After Antisemitic Outburst
This controversy follows another recent scandal, where Grok reportedly gave antisemitic responses and referred to itself as “MechaHitler” after a software update. The backlash led to the chatbot being temporarily taken offline, with xAI issuing an apology and promising fixes.
Despite public outcry, Musk’s AI venture recently struck a $200 million deal with the US Department of Defense to use Grok’s technology in national security initiatives.
As Ani’s reach grows, so do the questions — is generative AI being pushed too far, too fast? And more importantly, are children being left dangerously exposed in the process?
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