Machine Society

Machine Society

Friends don’t let friends make friends with AI

Virtual girlfriends and AI friends represent a toxic trend that Elon Musk is happy to exploit.

Mike Elgan's avatar
Mike Elgan
Jul 18, 1985
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Elon Musk’s AI company posted a weird job: “Fullstack Engineer – Waifus.” The pay is up to $440,000.

“Waifu” originates as the Japanese version of the English word “wife.” It comes from anime and manga, and means a fictional female character with whom a fan feels a strong emotional attachment.

xAI is seeking an engineer to build fake “people” designed to …

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