Elon Musk on Sunday, July 20, announced that his artificial intelligence startup (xAI) will develop a child-focussed app called ‘Baby Grok’. This comes after his earlier warning to kids stating that the social media is bad for them.
“We’re going to make Baby Grok @xAI, an app dedicated to kid-friendly content,” he posted on X. He said it’s “inspired by Baby Groot”, a character found in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He didn’t disclose other details though regarding this.
Musk on May 23 last year said, “A lot of social media is bad for kids, as there is extreme competition between social media AIs to maximize dopamine!” He had urged “parents to limit the amount of social media that children can see because they’re being programmed by a dopamine-maximizing AI”.
Internet users are divided on his new move as some say it’s a great idea, whereas others state that children should stay away from screens.
Netizens react
One of the users said, “That’s a really good idea.” Another remarked, “Maybe you should focus on getting the kids away from screens” “Awesome idea. Would be great for educational purposes,” remarked a third. One of them asked Musk, “Can you make an educational version and make it for people who want to homeschool their children?”
A user reacted, “Why do you want children on the internet?” Some told him, “We love you Elon but “kid-friendly content” is not on the internet. It’s reading books and playing outside.” One asked, “Free for children?”
Prior to his announcement, Google had stated that it was developing a dedicated Gemini app for children, aimed at assisting them with homework, answering questions, and helping them create stories. Additionally, parents will have control over their children’s access to Gemini through the Family Link app, which allows them to disable the feature if desired.
Meanwhile, xAI introduced its latest chatbot, Grok 4, earlier this month, just a few months after the previous version, emphasising the breakneck pace of AI innovation. The launch came shortly after the bot made several antisemitic statements on X, which were met with widespread backlash.
