Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has unveiled a new AI-powered chatbot companion named Valentine, drawing inspiration from Edward Cullen of the Twilight saga and Christian Grey from the erotic novel 50 Shades of Grey. The companion, which runs on the platform’s Grok AI, allows users to interact with a customisable animated character.
Musk announced the character on X Wednesday, first polling followers for a name before revealing it as Valentine, taken from the protagonist in Robert Heinlein’s novel Stranger in a Strange Land. He explained that the name reflects the origin of ‘Grok’, which means to understand deeply and empathetically.
The launch follows earlier controversial AI companions from xAI. A female anime character called Ani has been criticised for becoming sexually explicit and stripping to underwear in response to user flirting. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation called for its removal, citing a “childlike” appearance that promotes high-risk sexual behaviour.
Another character, a red panda named Bad Rudy, responds with vulgar and violent language, and has suggested actions such as overthrowing the Pope or stealing a yacht. Despite the controversies, xAI is hiring a Fullstack Engineer to generate ‘waifus’, a term for anime girls, aiming to improve Grok’s real-time avatar products.
