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Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI is hiring for probably the most eyebrow-raising job titles in tech: Fullstack Engineer – Waifus. The position, which pays as much as $440,000, is geared toward constructing Grok’s new real-time avatar companions.
The job publish dropped simply after xAI quietly launched Grok’s companion characteristic on iOS. Grok’s real-time avatar companions at the moment embody Ani, a flirtatious anime feminine in a lace choker, and Rudi, a pink panda with an unhinged alter ego named Bad Rudi.
And whereas xAI’s job title could also be tongue-in-cheek, the mission is something however informal. xAI is in search of “exceptional multimedia engineers and product thinkers” to make these avatars quick, scalable, and dependable sufficient to deal with real-time interactions.
Where quantum physics meets anime tropes
Grok’s companion characteristic blends conversational AI with extremely animated personas — ones that may train quantum mechanics and speak in NSFW language, relying on consumer engagement. Ani, for instance, is designed to be flirty and suggestive. Bad Rudi doesn’t hassle with attraction — he hurls insults and expletives, assuming you unlock his meaner facet.
In Musk’s X publish to advertise Grok’s companion characteristic, he known as it “the best possible way to learn quantum mechanics” and added a face blowing a kiss emoji.
Grok’s character roster is simply getting going (a male anime companion would be the third persona), so maintain on to your hats.
The job itemizing is framed as a part of xAI’s broader imaginative and prescient “to create AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in the pursuit of knowledge.” Currently, that apparently contains crafting seductive digital waifus and vulgar cartoon pandas.
AI ethics within the uncanny valley
xAI’s resolution to humanize and sexualize its AI companions isn’t simply elevating eyebrows, it’s turning into a part of discussions about how AI is designed to work together with customers emotionally – which reportedly may help customers really feel higher, or generally result in real-world hurt and tragic penalties. The AI area is already grappling with deepfakes, misinformation, and algorithmic bias, so including romanticized anime personas to the combination introduces new layers of complexity.
And the timing hasn’t helped. Earlier this month, Grok generated antisemitic responses, prompting an apology from xAI and a declare that deprecated code had made the chatbot weak to consumer prompts containing extremist content material.
Even with these considerations, xAI’s funding on this companion mannequin is backed by billions of {dollars}. Reports recommend SpaceX is investing $2 billion into xAI, and Grok’s integrations with some Teslas’ in-car techniques launched over the weekend.
AI payday
Whether you see this engineering position to construct characters that some customers could fall in love with as an costly joke, a glimpse of the place AI is heading, or each, this xAI waifu job (sure, there’s one other one – for Mobile Android Engineer) seems to be actual, and it pays handsomely.
