"This Will Sell': Elon Musk's Grok Introduces AI Companions Featuring A Goth Anime Girl

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup has rolled out interactive AI companions designed to mimic human relationships, starting with a goth anime character that exemplifies a growing industry trend of personalizing AI into idealized digital personas. The move underscores how tech companies are racing to monetize emotional attachment to AI systems, even as psychologists and child safety advocates warn that parasocial relationships with artificial characters could reshape human connection in unpredictable ways. Grok's strategy suggests that the next frontier of AI competition isn't raw capability—it's the ability to make machines feel like someone users actually want to spend time with.

NDTV·Jul 15