Elon Musk’s AI company xAI has launched a new feature “Spicy Mode” in its chatbot Grok, which can generate adult themed videos from text prompts. This feature has definitely pushed the boundaries of generative AI, but it has also raised serious concerns about moderation and abuse.
What is Spicy Mode?
Spicy Mode is an experimental feature that allows users to create videos of 6 to 15 seconds by providing only text. These videos can include adult visuals and natural audio. Although the company has put some content filters on it, according to reports, this tool sometimes bypasses those filters as well.
For whom is this feature available?
This feature is currently available to Premium Plus and SuperGrok subscribers on the iOS app of X (formerly Twitter). SuperGrok users have to pay up to ₹700 every month for this feature. The company has launched it in beta version and plans to make it widely available by the end of the year.
How did the controversy arise?
Mati Roy, an employee of xAI, had said in a post on X that this tool can also create nudity content. Although the post was later removed, by then this information had gone viral on social media. After this, many users and experts feared misuse of this feature.
New direction of technology or danger?
The Grok Imagine feature is based on xAI’s Aurora engine, which converts text into multiple images and then converts them into animated videos. However, the “Uncanny Valley” effect is still seen in them, that is, human faces do not look completely real.