Pop musician partners with startup to launch an unusual new toy

The 2022 movie “M3GAN” just got a bit more realistic, but without the horror.

Pop musician Grimes is diving further into the world of artificial intelligence with a toy that is able to converse with children. The singer has collaborated with toy start-up company Curio to launch a plush toy named Grok, which is powered by AI.

Grok, which is selling for $99, will be able to hold full conversations with children and will be equipped with an app that parents can use to access full transcripts of these discussions, according to a recent report from The Washington Post.

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Parents will also be able to delete transcripts and adjust what words or topics will be off limits. Also, the toy will not save or store any voice data. 

Grimes, who is the mother of three of Elon Musk’s children, will be the voice of Grok. She is also an investor and adviser to Curio, which has partnered with OpenAI to create a line of toys. The toy is not related in any way to Musk’s AI chatbot Grok. However, the name is inspired by Grimes’ children with Musk, as they coined the word “Grocket” since they are exposed to rockets through Musk’s company SpaceX, according to the Post.

The product will be available for pre-order on Dec. 17 and will start shipping in early 2024.

It is no surprise that Grimes is investing in the use of AI as she has embraced the technology in the past. In April, a song titled “Heart On My Sleeve” went viral online, which featured the voices of rapper Drake and singer The Weeknd. It was later taken down after it was revealed that the song was created with AI and used the voices of both artists without their permission, stirring controversy.

Grimes responded to the news by tweeting, “Feel free to use my voice without penalty.”

I'll split 50% royalties on any successful AI generated song that uses my voice. Same deal as I would with any artist i collab with. Feel free to use my voice without penalty. I have no label and no legal bindings. pic.twitter.com/KIY60B5uqt— Princess Irulen ® (@Grimezsz) April 24, 2023

The use of AI has rapidly been on the rise in the U.S. According to recent data by Insider Intelligence, the adoption speed of generative AI in the country has surpassed the adoption speed of smartphones and tablets. The data also revealed that roughly 14.4% of generative AI users are under the age of 18.

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