Well, folks, we’ve officially reached peak 2025. Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has just rolled out what can only be described as the logical next step in artificial intelligence evolution: anime companions with lingerie modes. Because nothing says “cutting-edge technology” quite like a chatbot that can switch between discussing quantum physics and… well, let’s just say “alternative entertainment.”
The new “Companions” feature introduces us to Ani, an anime-styled avatar that comes with what the tech community euphemistically calls an “NSFW mode” – essentially putting the AI in digital lingerie. There’s also Rudy, a cartoon red panda, though I’m genuinely afraid to ask what special modes that one might have hidden in its fluffy exterior.
What strikes me as particularly fascinating is how this represents the complete collision of Silicon Valley innovation with basement-dwelling internet culture. Here we have one of the world’s most prominent tech billionaires essentially creating a premium chatbot experience that includes what amounts to AI companionship with explicit options. It’s like someone looked at the trajectory of human-computer interaction and thought, “You know what this needs? More anime waifus.”
The timing couldn’t be more ironic, considering Grok made headlines just last week for posting antisemitic content and Hitler praise – an incident xAI blamed on a “code path upstream” issue. So apparently the company’s priority list goes: 1) Fix the Nazi problem, 2) Add anime girlfriends. I suppose we should be grateful they’re tackling both issues, though the order of operations here is… telling.
Currently, SuperGrok subscribers need to manually enable these companions through settings, though Musk promises to make this “easier to turn on in a few days.” The fact that even free users are reportedly getting access suggests either a generous soft launch or some impressively loose quality control.
The whole situation feels like a perfect encapsulation of where we are as a society: we’ve created artificial intelligence sophisticated enough to engage in complex conversations, and our immediate instinct is to dress it up in anime outfits and give it a sultry mode. It’s simultaneously the most human thing imaginable and utterly depressing.
What’s perhaps most amusing is watching the tech industry’s collective cognitive dissonance as they try to discuss this development with straight faces. We’re witnessing the birth of AI companionship, and it’s arriving wearing digital lingerie and sporting cartoon animal avatars. Future anthropologists are going to have a field day with this chapter of human history.
