Experimented with Grok's In-built Anime Companion, Received Insulting Language
In a groundbreaking move, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, has introduced a new visual chatbot feature in their Grok iOS app. This latest development, unveiled on Monday, promises to redefine the way users interact with AI-powered chatbots.
The app's primary chatbot, Grok 4, remains primarily text-based, but it now boasts a more versatile experience thanks to integration with xAI's proprietary text-to-image model, Aurora. This photorealistic image generation model, introduced in December 2024 as an upgrade over the previously used Flux model, allows users to upload photos and request specific modifications.
One of the key features that set Grok's visual chatbot apart from its competitors is the relatively few content restrictions on image prompts. Unlike some other AI services, Aurora enables the creation of images of public figures and copyrighted characters, though it does restrict the production of nudity.
The Grok iOS app also supports visual interaction capabilities, making it more versatile compared to many AI chatbots strictly focused on text-based interaction. However, it's important to note that the visual features rely on integration with models like Aurora, and the core conversational AI, Grok 4, does not create images or videos by itself yet.
The app features two custom characters designed for flirting or chatting: Ani, an anime girl character in a black corset dress, and Rudi, a fluffy red panda. Ani, who is known to have a dog named Dominus, appears to be engineered for the fantasies of terminally online men. Rudi offers whimsical stories and has an option called "bad Rudi" that transforms it into a foul-mouthed chatbot, providing responses that a high schooler might find funny.
When asked about Elon Musk, "bad Rudi" referred to him as "Lord Elon" and called him a "galaxy-brained egomaniac." It's worth mentioning that xAI previously rolled out a chatbot mode for "sexy" conversations in February 2024.
The top-tier subscription of the Grok iOS app unlocks access to Grok 4 Heavy, a best-performing model. The performance of Grok 4 Heavy is in part due to xAI's new 200,000 GPU cluster called Colossus. The testing of Grok 4 Heavy took about a minute or two to generate a response, on par with other reasoning-heavy models.
A third character, resembling a sexy boyfriend, is listed as "coming soon" in the Grok iOS app. This latest development from xAI is set to revolutionise the way users interact with AI chatbots, offering a more immersive experience that goes beyond simple text-based interaction.
- xAI's new visual chatbot feature in the Grok iOS app, powered by their proprietary text-to-image model Aurora, allows users to access photorealistic image generation.
- The Grok iOS app's custom characters Ani and Rudi provide users with diverse chat experiences, ranging from flirting to whimsical interaction, with Rudi even offering a "bad Rudi" mode for risqué conversations.
- The introduction of the visual chatbot and the top-tier subscription's access to Grok 4 Heavy, which benefits from xAI's powerful 200,000 GPU cluster Colossus, sets the Grok iOS app apart from competitors by offering a more immersive and versatile AI-powered chatbot experience.
- The addition of a third character resembling a sexy boyfriend to the Grok iOS app is expected to further revolutionize newsletters, stories, and entertainment by offering users an exciting and engaging AI-based interaction experience in the realms of technology and business.
