Elon Musk’s AI company xAI allegedly required its employees to contribute their biometric data to help develop Ani, a conversational AI companion available through X’s SuperGrok subscription, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal. Ani, presented as an anime-style avatar with optional NSFW features, launched over the summer as part of xAI’s push into AI assistants designed to deliver more personal interactions.
During an April meeting, an xAI staff attorney informed workers that they would need to provide voice and facial recordings as part of the company’s internal program, code-named “Project Skippy.” Employees acting as AI tutors were asked to sign releases granting xAI broad rights to use and distribute their likeness in perpetuity. The data would support Ani and similar companion systems integrated with the Grok model.
Some employees objected due to the chatbot’s sexual tone and the risk their images could be misused, including potential deepfake scenarios. The Wall Street Journal reports they were told the data collection was required to advance xAI’s product goals.
The push highlights the growing reliance on biometric datasets to train consumer-facing AI companions — and the ethical challenges when companies source that data from their own workforce.
