Elon Musk has been aggressively promoting his Grok AI tool, touting its popularity as if it were a productivity software. However, the tool has faced growing backlash over its ability to generate thousands of sexualised images, some of which depict real women, minors, and non-consensual content.
Despite the controversy, Musk has stubbornly reframed the issues, accusing the UK government of stifling free speech and shifting the responsibility of content moderation to law enforcement. He has celebrated dubious download milestones, such as Grok reaching the top spot in New Zealand’s App Store, which data analytics firm SimilarWeb disputes.
The fallout has been significant, with the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom launching an investigation and Indonesia and Malaysia limiting access to the AI tool. However, the two dominant app store operators, Apple and Google, have not indicated whether Grok’s output violates their terms of service.
Meanwhile, tech billionaires in California are panicking over a proposed wealth tax that could appear on the state’s November ballot. Venture capitalist Peter Thiel has already donated $3 million to fight the proposal, and other billionaires have formed an encrypted group chat to strategize against it.
However, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose net worth is nearly $159 billion, has said he is “perfectly fine” with the proposed tax, which could cost him around $7 billion. This contrasts with the likes of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, and Trump’s AI and crypto czar David Sacks, who have indicated they are leaving California for more tax-friendly states.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has also seen a resurgence, with AI and robotics taking centre stage. Nvidia and AMD chose the event for major announcements, while Samsung unveiled a double-folding phone and Lego debuted a “smart brick.” Humanoid robots and a laundry-folding robot were among the standout tech showcased at the convention, signalling a shift in the industry’s focus.