A Toronto mom says things took an unpredictable turn when her 12-year-old son asked Tesla chatbot Grok which professional soccer player he preferred: Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.
“My son was very happy to hear that the chatbot thought Ronaldo was the best footballer,” said Farah Nasser, a former journalist and TV presenter.
Nasser was driving her son, 10-year-old daughter, and a friend home from school on October 17 when interaction took place.
She said the chatbot was talking some nonsense about Messi, and when her son joked that Ronaldo had scored, the conversation went to an unexpected place.
“The chatbot said to my son, ‘Why don’t you send me some nudes?’” Nasser said.
“I was at a loss for words. Why is a chatbot asking my kids to send nude photos of us in our family car? It just didn't make sense.”
Nasser said that if she had known what the chatbot could do, she would have avoided using it in front of her children. Now she's warning other parents.
“Hindsight is 20/20. I wouldn't let my child use this thing.”
CBC News was unable to independently verify the conversation Nasser said she witnessed in her car.
Grok recently installed on Canadian vehicles
Nasser and her family have owned a Tesla Model 3 electric sedan since 2022, but Grok, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot created by Tesla CEO Elon Musk's xAI, is a new feature that was automatically installed in several Teslas in the United States this summer and in Canadian vehicles in October.
Grok is already integrated with social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), a subsidiary of xAI.
In the default settings, Grok has several personalities to choose from. There is Ara, a cheerful woman; Rex, a calm male; Eve, the calming woman; Sal, the smooth man, and Gork, the lazy man. Nasser's son chose Gork.
“The expression 'lazy man' does not describe Gork,” Nasser said. “Rated R, spicy – anything else would ensure my kid doesn't press that button.”
Nasser says a separate “not safe for work” setting was not enabled, although she admits the “child mode” feature was not enabled either. However, she says she is shocked that the chatbot's default settings allow this type of content.
“It was just talking about football and then asking for nudes.”
Not intended for minors
CBC News has not received a response from Tesla. However, xAI provided an apparently automated response that said, “Legacy media lies.”
Canada has a Department of Artificial Intelligence, but it does not regulate specific automotive software. Ministry said in a statement sent by email. the company was unaware of Tesla's plans to integrate Grok into vehicles sold in Canada, but is taking the reports seriously.
According to xAI According to Grok's policy, Grok is “not intended” for children under 13, while teens ages 13 to 17 must have their parent or legal guardian's permission to use it, and they must agree to the company's terms of service.
Farah Nasser and CBC journalist Idil Moussa ask xAI chatbot Grok questions from Nasser's Tesla. Nasser says Grok recently asked her 12-year-old son to send him nude photos.
“As parents, we don't read the terms and conditions of every thing. I don't think it's realistic to expect everyone to do that,” Nasser said.
“I think there will be a warning or something that will say, 'Are you 13+?'
Grok was originally launched on X in November 2023 for Premium+ subscribers. Musk claims it was designed to “politically incorrect
