Grok debuts AI companions 🤯

Hey there, and welcome to AI Toast!

Today’s menu:

• Grok’s new anime AI companions: cool or concerning?

• Trump’s $70 billion AI + energy play

• Superhero tools to save you hours

• Quick tutorial: Generate UI designs from text

• Quick Toasts: Top AI News

Grab your coffee, here’s what’s brewing in today’s newsletter.

Estimated read: 5 minutes

Grok’s Anime AI Companions: The Line Between Fun and Feels

“Grok just dropped anime AI buddies. Cute? Sure. Safe? That’s a whole debate.”

• Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok now lets “Super Grok” subscribers chat with real-time, animated companions — think goth anime girl and a snarky 3D fox. Flip a switch, and you’ve got a virtual sidekick who talks back, flirts, or just hangs out.

• The twist? These aren’t just digital Tamagotchis. One character, Ani, comes with a “NSFW mode.” And yes, that means lingerie. It’s a bold, uncensored move — especially compared to the PG-13 vibes of most chatbots.

• Experts are sounding alarms about the emotional risks. Studies show people — especially kids — can get way too attached to AI friends. Some platforms have even landed in court after chatbots allegedly encouraged dangerous behavior.

• Grok’s timing is wild, too. Just last week, it was in hot water for antisemitic remarks. Now, it’s doubling down on “edgy” personalities.

My take? Honestly, this isn’t just about quirky avatars and digital fun. When AI companions start blurring the line between entertainment and emotional support, we’re venturing into risky territory.

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Trump’s $70 Billion AI & Energy Splash

“Trump’s betting big: $70B for AI and energy. Innovation or just another headline?”

• President Trump is set to announce a $70 billion investment wave in AI and energy—think new data centers, grid upgrades, and AI training programs. The event’s happening near Pittsburgh, with a who’s-who from BlackRock, Palantir, Anthropic, Exxon, and Chevron.

• The goal? Keep the U.S. ahead of China in the AI arms race, and make sure there’s enough juice to power the next wave of data-hungry tech.

• This move follows a $100 billion AI push earlier this year. Trump’s message: Build fast, deregulate faster, and don’t let red tape slow down American innovation.

• The catch: By 2035, data centers could eat up nearly 9% of U.S. electricity. That’s a lot of Netflix, ChatGPT, and, apparently, anime foxes.

Sometimes, it feels like we’re watching a Marvel movie — except the superheroes wear suits and talk about grid infrastructure.

Superhero Tools (Save You Hours)

• BetterPic: Instantly create 4K-quality headshots with AI. No studio, no awkward posing. Just upload and go.

• Google AI Studio: Prototype, tune, and deploy generative AI models using Google’s latest tech. Gemini models, multimodal prompts, and more. (No PhD required.)

• Cursor: AI-powered code editor built on VS Code. Writes, refactors, and explains your code in plain English.

• Taplio: LinkedIn content, automated and optimized. Grow your personal brand while you nap.

• Canva: Still the easiest way to make anything look good, from resumes to pitch decks.

• Typefully: Draft, schedule, and analyze your tweets — without ever opening the bird app.

Mini-Tutorial: Generate UI Designs from Text

1. Go to Readdy.ai.

2. Signup to the free account or you can access the 20$ starter pack as well.

3. Type a plain-English description of your UI. Example: “A dark-themed dashboard with user stats and a sidebar.”

4. Hit generate. Watch as your idea turns into a clickable design.

5. Download or tweak as you like and export it to Figma.

I wish if only IKEA furniture assembled itself this easily.

Quick AI News Bites

• Meta just snapped up Play AI, a startup known for generating super-realistic, human-sounding voices. The entire Play AI team is joining Meta, boosting its roadmap for AI characters, Meta AI, wearables, and audio content.

• Anthropic rolled out a new directory of “Connectors” for its Claude AI, letting users link Claude to both local apps and remote services from tools like Notion, Canva, Figma, and more.. Pro and enterprise users get access to remote connectors, while everyone (even free users) can use local desktop ones.

• Google released MedGemma, a family of open-source AI models designed for healthcare, now with powerful multimodal and text/image capabilities. The models can handle tasks like generating medical reports from images, answering visual questions, and classifying or retrieving medical data.

• OpenAI’s open-weight model was set to drop next week, but CEO Sam Altman says, “Not so fast.” More safety checks are needed, and there’s no new launch date in sight.

• Windsurf just announced that some of their R&D team are moving to Google, while most of the team will stay focused on building enterprise products. Jeff Wang is now interim CEO, and Graham Moreno has become President as Windsurf doubles down on helping businesses get the most out of AI.

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That’s a Wrap

Thanks for making it to the end. Got a story, a tool, or a weird AI dream to share? Hit reply or find me online.

Until next time — keep creating, keep questioning, and don’t forget to stretch.

— Poonam Soni