Meet Grimes’ AI-Powered Talking Doll: Grok the Rocket

Artificial intelligence isn't just for adults. Grimes, the pop singer and artificial intelligence enthusiast, has joined forces with Curio, a toy startup, to release a talking, AI-powered doll, Grok.

Does that name sound familiar? It should. Grimes' former partner, the billionaire Elon Musk, released a chatbot with the very same name last month through his new AI company, xAI.

Grimes choose to name the toy Grok "because Grimes’ children" — she shares three with Musk — "are exposed to a lot of rockets through their father’s ownership of SpaceX," according to the Washington Post. (It's not all fun and funny names between the two: They're currently in a custody battle over their kids.)

The plush doll uses AI to talk to its owner in Grimes' voice. It's launching alongside a robot, Gabbo, and an alien, Grem. (All three dolls cost $99 and are available now for preorder.) The trio runs on CuriOS, an operating system based on a mix of OpenAI's GPT models that uses a combination of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a microphone, speaker and accelerometer to generate impromptu speech. Worth noting: It's unclear what safeguards CuriOS introduces to OpenAI's large language models to protect kids.

Curio is shying away from calling Grok educational, pitching it instead as an alternative to screen time. The company's website advertises the toy with a number of prompts kids could give its AI.