Latest news with #chatbot
The Independent
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Elon Musk unveils new AI ‘companion' inspired by 50 Shades of Grey and Twilight
Elon Musk has unveiled a new AI-powered chatbot 'companion,' which he says is inspired by Edward Cullen from the Twilight saga and Christian Grey from erotic romance novel 50 Shades of Grey. The tech billionaire's artificial intelligence offshoot xAI debuted the companions on Monday. The features allow users to interact with animated characters that can be personally customized and are powered by Grok – the platform's AI chatbot. Posting a picture of the animated male character on X Wednesday, Musk first asked his followers what to name him, before adding: 'His personality is inspired by Edward Cullen from Twilight and Christian Grey from 50 Shades.' He later said that the character's name would be Valentine, 'after the protagonist in Stranger in a Strange Land, the Heinlein book where our AI name 'Grok' was created.' 'To Grok something means to understand deeply and empathetically,' he wrote. Grok previously dubbed itself 'MechaHitler' and spewed antisemitic talking points. The arrival of Valentine comes after Musk previously introduced two other AI companions, both of which have prompted controversy. A female anime character, called Ani, becomes sexually explicit with her replies and offers to make users' lives 'sexier.' An investigation done by NBC found that the animation will strip down to its underwear if the user flirts with it enough. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation, an anti-pornography and anti-sexual exploitation nonprofit, called for xAI to remove the Ani chatbot in a statement on Tuesday, claiming the character's "childlike" appearance and behavior promoted high-risk sexual behavior. Despite this, xAi is currently hiring a Fullstack Engineer to generate 'waifus' – a term to describe anime girls. 'We're looking for exceptional multimedia engineers and product thinkers who want to make Grok's realtime avatar products the best in the world,' the job description reads. xAi's other character, a red panda named Bad Rudy responds in vulgar and violent ways. The animation insults users with graphic language and encourages them to sew chaos. NBC News reported, through interaction analysis, that the panda suggested things including the overthrow of the Pope as well as floating an idea to steal a yacht in California.
Bloomberg
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
Elon Musk Is Cashing In on the AI Romance Boom
Elon Musk is a no-holds-barred kind of tech billionaire. So too are his new AI companions. Two characters have been added this week to Grok, the chatbot developed by Musk's company xAI, including a flirtatious girl with all the hallmarks of a manga character: enormous eyes, thigh-high fishnet stockings and an exaggerated hourglass figure. Musk spent the early hours of Wednesday promoting the character on X, pointing to how Grok was climbing the app store ranks across the world.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
OpenAI unveils ChatGPT agent to handle tasks as AI apps evolve
(Reuters) -OpenAI launched an artificial intelligence agent for its popular chatbot ChatGPT on Thursday that can complete complex tasks as the Microsoft-backed startup looks to get ahead of competitors in the AI race. AI agents — considered to be an evolution of an assistant — have been embraced across the tech world with large firms, including Microsoft, Salesforce and Oracle, spending billions on the technology to boost productivity and make operations more cost efficient. OpenAI's agent will combine aspects of its previous agentic features, operator, which can interact with websites, and deep research that can conduct multi-step research for advanced tasks. Starting Thursday, users of ChatGPT's Pro, Plus and Team tiers can activate the chatbot's agentic capabilities. ChatGPT's agent can complete tasks such as ordering an outfit for a wedding while taking into account factors like dress code and weather. The chatbot does this by using its own virtual computer equipped with a number of tools that can interact with the web. It also allows the user to connect apps such as Gmail and Github so ChatGPT can find information relevant to a prompt. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
OpenAI launches personal assistant capable of controlling files and web browsers
Users of ChatGPT will be able to ask an AI agent to find restaurant reservations, go shopping for them and even draw up lists of candidates for job vacancies, as the chatbot gains the powers of a personal assistant from Thursday. ChatGPT agent, launched by Open AI everywhere apart from the EU, not only 'thinks' but also acts, the US company said. The agent combines the powers of AI research tools with the ability to take control of web browsers, computer files and software such as spreadsheets and slide decks. It follows the launch of similar 'agents' by Google and Anthropic as interest grows in AI models that can handle computer-based tasks by judging which software is best to use and toggling between systems to autonomously complete assignments like drafting travel itineraries or carrying out work research. 'The hope is that agents are able to bring some real utility to users – to actually do things for them rather than just outputting polished text and sounding impressive,' said Niamh Burns, senior media analyst at Enders Analysis. But Open AI has acknowledged that allowing an AI agent even limited reign over computer systems meant that 'with this model there are more risks than with previous models'. While it is intended to help people with everyday tasks, its potential power means OpenAI has felt the need to introduce safeguards to ensure no agents enable the creation of biological hazards. 'While we don't have definitive evidence that the model could meaningfully help a novice create severe biological harm,' the company said, 'we are exercising caution and implementing the needed safeguards now.' The model has been trained to confirm with the user before it takes any kind of destructive or irreversible action. The company said in a blog: 'You're always in control. ChatGPT requests permission before taking actions of consequence, and you can easily interrupt, take over the browser, or stop tasks at any point.' The launch of the agent also triggered speculation the tech company could hope to earn revenues if the agents guide users to retail checkouts. The OpenAI chief executive, Sam Altman, has previously said it could charge a 2% fee on sales generated through its 'deep research' software. Sign up to TechScape A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives after newsletter promotion Burns, an independent analyst, said: 'It's easy to say the system will require your approval before making a purchase, but what goes into the process of that system finding the products? Would there be commercial deals where brands pay to be featured by assistants, or cases where they might feature their own products more than competitors? 'These AI companies are under growing pressure to monetise their products, so some version of ads or sponsored placement feels inevitable.' OpenAI said the agent does not include sponsored product recommendations and there are no plans to change that. A demonstration of the software this week showed it being asked to look at a user's Google calendar, pick a weeknight when they were free between 6pm and 9pm, seek available tables at Italian, sushi or Korean restaurants with ratings of at least 4.3 stars, and give the user some options. The task took between 10 and 15 minutes and, as with a human assistant, the user could interrupt and set the AI agent off in a different direction. Equally the agent can ask the user for clearer instructions. Another key risk is that the agent falls victim to malicious prompts that may be hidden on websites its visits, which could, for example, demand the agent hands over some of the user's data. OpenAI said it ran multiple safety checks and trained the agent to reject certain suspicious requests including demands for bank transfers. The system will initially be available to users who pay monthly subscriptions to access the 'pro', 'plus' and 'teams' versions of the model.
Khaleej Times
a day ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
OpenAI unveils ChatGPT agent to handle tasks as AI apps evolve
OpenAI launched an artificial intelligence agent for its popular chatbot ChatGPT on Thursday that can complete complex tasks as the Microsoft-backed startup looks to get ahead of competitors in the AI race. AI agents — considered to be an evolution of an assistant — have been embraced across the tech world with large firms, including Microsoft, Salesforce and Oracle, spending billions on the technology to boost productivity and make operations more cost efficient. OpenAI's agent will combine aspects of its previous agentic features, operator, which can interact with websites, and deep research that can conduct multi-step research for advanced tasks. Starting Thursday, users of ChatGPT's Pro, Plus and Team tiers can activate the chatbot's agentic capabilities. ChatGPT's agent can complete tasks such as ordering an outfit for a wedding while taking into account factors like dress code and weather. The chatbot does this by using its own virtual computer equipped with a number of tools that can interact with the web. It also allows the user to connect apps such as Gmail and Github so ChatGPT can find information relevant to a prompt.
