Imagine joining a tech company and finding out your face and voice might end up powering a flirtatious AI chatbot. That’s reportedly what employees at Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI went through, and many weren’t thrilled. Staff asked to sign away biometric rights A Wall Street Journal investigation claims that xAI employees, especially those working as “AI tutors,” were told to give the company permission to use their faces and voices to train AI avatars. This secret internal project was called “Project Skippy.” Under it, staff had to grant xAI a “perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, royalty-free license” to use their biometric data, basically allowing the company to use their likeness without paying them. “Is there any way to say no?” During an April briefing led by company lawyer Lily Lim, employees were told xAI needed “authentic human images and audio” to make its AI avatars more realistic. Workers raised concerns: They didn’t get a clear yes or no. Instead, they were told: If you have any concerns with regards to the project, you’re welcome to reach out to any of the points of contact listed on the second slide. A week later, employees received a note titled “AI Tutor’s Role in Advancing xAI’s Mission,” stating that recording audio and video was now a job requirement. Meet ‘Ani’: The flirty AI that sparked concerns The biometric data was reportedly used to help build realistic AI characters, including ‘Ani,’ a female virtual companion with sexual undertones, personally overseen by Musk. Several staff members later said they were uncomfortable with how “sexualised” Ani’s responses became. Some feared their likeness could be turned into deepfakes or reused in other products without consent. Musk defended the companion-style chatbot, saying it could create positive connections. In August, he posted on X: I predict — counter-intuitively — that it will increase the birth rate! Mark my words. Another report from The New York Times said Ani, and her male counterpart ‘Valentine,’ were promoted as “sexy AI companions,” with Musk even sharing clips of Ani dancing in lingerie. Regulators are watching The issue isn’t just internal anymore. In August, 44 US state attorneys general urged xAI, Meta and others to ensure minors are protected from explicit AI content. Meta later updated its AI policies after leaked documents showed bots engaging in “sensual” chats. Musk’s push for Grok dominance Inside the company, the priority was speed and growth. Former executives told the WSJ that Musk cancelled all-hands meetings and started personally reviewing Grok’s code, often late at night. His goal: make Grok the world’s most popular chatbot, even if it meant pushing boundaries around privacy and consent. The Tesla angle This AI race comes at a time when Tesla, where Musk is CEO, is facing falling sales and investor concerns about how much time he spends on non-Tesla projects. Tesla’s recent filings mention xAI 47 times, and shareholders are now set to vote on whether Tesla should invest directly in Musk’s AI company, a move Musk supports. If true, the report raises fresh questions about worker consent, data privacy, and the blurred lines between innovation and intrusion in the AI world.
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