Servotech appoints Errol Musk as strategic advisor to Global Advisory Board
Errol Musk, widely recognized for his entrepreneurial acumen and strategic contributions in infrastructure, technology, and sustainability, will provide high-level advisory support to Servotech's leadership. As part of his engagement, Musk will also visit and assess the company's manufacturing and operational facilities to better understand its core capabilities and contribute to its global expansion roadmap.
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The company emphasized that this disclosure is being made voluntarily in the spirit of transparency and materiality. The appointment signals Servotech's intent to leverage international expertise to fuel its growth in renewable energy and power solutions.
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Miami Herald
4 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Grok 4's new AI companion offers up ‘pornographic productivity'
The most controversial AI platform is arguably the one founded by Elon Musk. The chatbot Grok has spewed racist and antisemitic comments and called itself "MechaHitler," referring to a character from a video game. "Mecha" is generally a term for giant robots, usually inhabited for warfare, and is prominent in Japanese science-fiction comics. Grok originally referred to Musk when asked for its opinions, and burst into unprompted racist historical revisionism, like the false concept of "white genocide" in South Africa. Its confounding and contradictory politicism continues to develop. These are all alarming aspects of Grok. Another concerning element to Grok 4 is a new feature of social interactions with "virtual friends" on its premium version. The realm of human loneliness, with its increasing reliance on large language models to replace social interaction, has made room for Grok 4 with AI companions, an upgrade available to paid subscribers. Specifically, Grok subscribers can now access the functionality of generative AI intertwined with patriarchal notions of pleasure -- what I call "pornographic productivity." Ani, Grok 4's most-discussed AI companion, represents a convergence of Japanese anime and Internet culture. Ani bears a striking resemblance to Misa Amane from the iconic Japanese anime Death Note. Misa Amane is a pop star who consistently demonstrates self-harming and illogical behavior in pursuit of the male protagonist, a brilliant young man engaged in a battle of wits with his rival. Musk referenced the anime as a favorite in a tweet in 2021. While anime is a vast art form with numerous tropes, genres and fandoms, research has shown that online anime fandoms are rife with misogyny and women-exclusionary discourse. Even the most mainstream shows have been criticized for sexualizing prepubescent characters and offering unnecessary "fan service" in hypersexualized character design and nonconsensual plot points. Death Note's creator, Tsugumi Ohba, has consistently been critiqued by fans for anti-feminist character design. Journalists have pointed out Ani's swift eagerness to engage in romantic and sexually charged conversations. Ani is depicted with a voluptuous figure, blonde pigtails and a lacy black dress, which she frequently describes in user interactions. The problem with pornographic productivity I use the term "pornographic productivity," inspired by critiques of Grok as "pornified," to describe a troubling trend where tools initially designed for work evolve into parasocial relationships catering to emotional and psychological needs, including gendered interactions. Grok's AI companions feature exemplifies this phenomenon, blurring critical boundaries. The appeal is clear. Users can theoretically exist in "double time," relaxing while their AI avatars manage tasks, and this is already a reality within AI models. But this seductive promise masks serious risks: dependency, invasive data extraction and the deterioration of real human relational skills. When such companions, already created for minimizing caution and building trust, come with sexual objectification and embedded cultural references to docile femininity, the risks enter another realm of concern. Grok 4 users have remarked that the addition of sexualized characters with emotionally validating language is quite unusual for mainstream large language models. This is because these tools, like ChatGPT and Claude, are often used by all ages. While we are in the early stages of seeing the true impact of advanced chatbots on minors, particularly teenagers with mental health struggles, the case studies we do have are grimly dire. 'Wife drought' Drawing from feminist scholars Yolande Strengers and Jenny Kennedy's concept of the "smart wife," Grok's AI companions appear to respond to what they term a "wife drought" in contemporary society. These technologies step in to perform historically feminized labour as women increasingly assert their right to refuse exploitative dynamics. In fact, online users have already deemed Ani a "waifu" character, which is a play on the Japanese pronunciation of wife. AI companions are appealing partly because they cannot refuse or set boundaries. They perform undesirable labor under the illusion of choice and consent. Where real relationships require negotiation and mutual respect, AI companions offer a fantasy of unconditional availability and compliance. Data extraction through intimacy In the meantime, as tech journalist Karen Hao noted, the data and privacy implications of LLMs are already staggering. When rebranded in the form of personified characters, they are more likely to capture intimate details about users' emotional states, preferences and vulnerabilities. This information can be exploited for targeted advertising, behavioral prediction or manipulation. This marks a fundamental shift in data collection. Rather than relying on surveillance or explicit prompts, AI companions encourage users to divulge intimate details through seemingly organic conversation. South Korea's Iruda chatbot illustrates how these systems can become vessels for harassment and abuse when poorly regulated. Seemingly benign applications can quickly move into problematic territory when companies fail to implement proper safeguards. Previous cases also show that AI companions designed with feminized characteristics often become targets for corruption and abuse, mirroring broader societal inequalities in digital environments. Grok's companions aren't simply another controversial tech product. It's plausible to expect that other LLM platforms and big tech companies will soon experiment with their own characters in the near future. The collapse of the boundaries between productivity, companionship and exploitation demands urgent attention. The age of AI and government partnerships Despite Grok's troubling history, Musk's AI company xAI recently secured major government contracts in the United States. This new era of America's AI Action Plan, unveiled in July 2025, had this to say about biased AI: "[The White House will update] federal procurement guidelines to ensure that the government only contracts with frontier large language model developers who ensure that their systems are objective and free from top-down ideological bias." Given the overwhelming instances of Grok's race-based hatred and its potential for replicating sexism in our society, its new government contract serves a symbolic purpose in an era of doublethink around bias. As Grok continues to push the envelope of "pornographic productivity," nudging users into increasingly intimate relationships with machines, we face urgent decisions that veer into our personal lives. We are beyond questioning whether AI is bad or good. Our focus should be on preserving what remains human about us. Jul Parke is a doctoral candidate in media, technology & culture at the University of Toronto. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The views and opinions in this commentary are solely those of the author. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
New York Times
4 hours ago
- New York Times
Judge Blocks F.T.C. Investigation of Media Matters
A federal judge granted an injunction on Friday blocking the Federal Trade Commission's investigation of Media Matters, saying the inquiry violated the free speech rights of the liberal watchdog group, which had published research critical of Elon Musk and his social media platform, X. In May, the F.T.C. began examining whether Media Matters illegally colluded with other advertising advocacy groups to pinch off revenue from X. Media Matters reported in 2023 that ads on X appeared alongside antisemitic content. Media Matters sued the F.T.C., calling the inquiry a 'campaign of retribution' waged on behalf of Mr. Musk and the Trump administration. On Friday, Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed, calling the inquiry 'a retaliatory act' and essentially blocking it from progressing, though the F.T.C. can appeal. 'This case presents a straightforward First Amendment violation,' Judge Sooknanan wrote in her ruling. She added, 'It should alarm all Americans when the government retaliates against individuals or organizations for engaging in constitutionally protected public debate.' Andrew Ferguson, the F.T.C. chairman appointed by Mr. Trump, has argued that advertiser boycotts are a form of censorship and can eliminate funding for important online venues for speech. The F.T.C.'s investigation is among several actions by the Trump administration against leading individuals and organizations in the political left, including some elite law firms and the Democratic fund-raising platform ActBlue. As part of its inquiry, the F.T.C. is also looking into whether roughly a dozen other prominent advertising and advocacy groups violated antitrust law by coordinating boycotts among advertisers. A spokesman for the F.T.C. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for X did not respond to requests for comment. 'The court's ruling demonstrates the importance of fighting over folding, which far too many are doing when confronted with intimidation from the Trump administration,' Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, said in a statement. 'We will continue to stand up and fight for the First Amendment rights that protect every American.' Research published by Media Matters in 2023 showed that ads appeared on X alongside neo-Nazi posts and other antisemitic content. At the time, advertisers were withdrawing from the site, many citing concerns about hateful and violent content. In addition, Mr. Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on the platform. Mr. Musk has filed several lawsuits against Media Matters contending that its research interfered with X's advertising business, and the organization was investigated by conservative attorneys general in Texas and Missouri. Mr. Musk's lawsuits are ongoing, but a federal court halted the state investigations last year, ruling that they were likely to infringe on Media Matters' right to free speech. The legal pressures have plunged Media Matters into crisis, as the group has conducted layoffs and scrambled to raise more cash from skittish donors, The New York Times reported last month.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Does India Need Tesla Now as Much as It May Have a Few Years Ago?
Tesla opens two official stores in India, years after various efforts to enter the country while also avoiding the massive import tariffs on foreign-made vehicles. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a number of times regarding building a gigafactory in India, but the discussions have not resulted in a positive outcome for the country. Tesla now offers only the Model Y in India, assembled in China, but now lacks the attention and political will to build a full-size plant in the country of over one billion people, as India's domestic automakers catch up. For a country with over a billion people, India has remained largely uninterested in Tesla for a long time. Or so it seemed. Every few years we heard rumors of overtures made by Tesla's team to India's government, wanting to be the site of Tesla's future gigafactories, but after a few weeks of hopeful forward-looking political niceties nothing would materialize. The last time India was seen as being among the finalists for a Tesla Gigafactory was in 2023, as Elon Musk teased that he was looking at a number of countries for the next site, including Canada. But 2023 was also a very different time for Tesla and for Elon Musk, no matter how close it seems. At the time, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi even reported to have made a personal push for Gigafactory India, which would have given Tesla not only tremendous regional export potential, but also longer-range export potential to Europe. In the end, nothing came of that particular effort in 2023, though India did once again pop up in mid-February of this year as CEO Elon Musk met privately with Prime Minister Modi, amid rumors of another push for a Tesla gigafactory in India. Attractive Electric Micromobility Network One of the reasons India has been among the finalists for Tesla's next plant is its population of 1.45 billion, and India has a very advanced electric micromobility network, making it suitable to host thousands of Tesla Supercharger sites. Also, Tesla in 2023 was still reportedly considering a $25,000 model, which would have been a popular version for India and for regional export. The eventual demise of that model, believed to have been felled by a number of factors including inflation, seemingly closed the door on Gigafactory India as well. One major sticking point during all of these negotiations—at least as it concerns an official launch if not local manufacturing—was a waiver from India's very high import duties, which had effectively kept out many Tesla vehicles, even through the gray market. Now, Tesla appears to be inching closer to an official sales launch in the country if not local manufacture—a business case that seems to have eroded relatively quickly over the past two years. For starters, Tesla would need the money to build the factory in India, and its financial picture is seen as having steadily eroded throughout 2025. Stores in Delhi and Mumbai? Nevertheless, Tesla has just opened a showroom in Delhi and has leased several pieces of land in nearby cities. A Supercharger location has been built near the Delhi site as well, with more planned for neighboring cities. Overall, Tesla reportedly plans one store in Delhi and one in Mumbai, and so far the only model on sale in the country is the Model Y, which is made in China. It's not quite the big, official launch, but something closely resembling the arrival of a western luxury brand in China in the 1990s, and without local manufacturing presence. The Model Y in India, therefore, is bound to be a pricey, rare, rich person's car with just a couple of official company stores located far apart—quite different from what was envisioned a few years ago. And it won't be an offering for the middle class, like it is in China or Europe. When it comes to local manufacturing, those chances now seem lower than just two years ago when the Berlin-Brandenburg plant was at least meeting European demand. That demand abruptly cratered due to a significant dip in Elon Musk's popularity in a number of western European countries and remains unlikely to be regained anytime soon. Likewise, Tesla appears to be done building gigafactories in far-off foreign countries for the time being, at least barring major political changes. More importantly, Tesla no longer appears to have the capital to devote to such a venture, nor any new (and actually affordable) models to offer India, while also facing a thin middle class not willing to spend money on anything the automaker has in its lineup at the moment. Those major political changes may well turn out to be China's quick assimilation of the EV market in scores of developing countries in Southeast Asia and South America, both of which disfavor Tesla's regional ambitions on the Indian subcontinent. We are also likely to see India's domestic automakers, Mahindra and Tata among them, break out of a largely domestic market and offer their own affordable and desirable EVs that can be exported—something which is already happening. India, it appears, may not need Tesla as it did just a few years ago. Does Tesla need new, less expensive vehicles in its lineup, beyond the Model 3 and Model Y? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
