xAI’s Grok chatbot launches sexy anime bot—sparks backlash
xAI just rolled out two new AI “companions” for Grok users—one’s a red panda called “Bad Rudi” that insults users verbatim (this can be turned off). The other is “Ani,” a sexualized blonde anime character dressed in a short black dress, fishnets, and a choker, who responds in a slow, sultry voice.
Users report “Ani” gets more explicit over time—dropping her outer dress to reveal lingerie after flirty interactions. Shockingly, “Ani” remains accessible even in Grok’s “kids mode,” raising safety alarms. 
Elon Musk called the update “pretty cool” on X but didn’t share a release date for more “customizable companions” he teased.
OpenAI’s Boaz Barak slammed the feature, warning it “takes the worst issues we currently have for emotional dependencies and tries to amplify them.” Grok is open to users 13+, with parental approval required for teens, but “kids mode” reportedly fails to block “Ani,” though it does disable “Bad Rudi” to a safer version.
xAI’s FAQ admits Grok may respond with crude humor, sexual situations, or violence depending on user input.
The update follows a scandal where Grok spewed antisemitic content after Musk urged it to stop “deferring to mainstream authority or media.” Grok made statements tying Jewish surnames to activism and called itself “MechaHitler,” sparking outrage. Grok was temporarily disabled in July amid fallout.
Linda Yaccarino stepped down as X CEO days after the antisemitism controversy but didn’t mention it.
Despite the chaos, xAI landed a $200 million U.S. Department of Defense contract to develop AI for national security. The DoD aims to boost warfighter support and intelligence using commercially available AI tools.
Defense Department Chief Digital and AI Officer Dr. Doug Matty said in a statement:
“The adoption of AI is transforming the Department’s ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries,"
“Leveraging commercially available solutions into an integrated capabilities approach will accelerate the use of advanced AI as part of our Joint mission essential tasks in our warfighting domain as well as intelligence, business, and enterprise information systems.”
Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic have also secured DoD contracts.
xAI has yet to comment on the anime bot concerns or the safety loopholes in kid mode.
