Elon Musk’s xAI Faces Backlash For Exploiting Its Own Employees: Here’s What Happened

Elon Musk's xAI has been flagged in the past for malpractices, but the latest allegations are beyond comprehension. An investigation conducted by the Wall Street Journal claims that the firm forced its

staff to sign away their rights to their own faces and voices to help train the next generation of chatbots. The move was a crucial part of a secret internal initiative dubbed 'Project Skippy.'In the project, all the employees at xAI were asked to give 'a perpetual, worldwide, sub-licensable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license' for the use of their biometric data. The segment most affected by the same included AI tutors, who were the people behind enhancements provided to Grok.

What Actually Happened?

During a meeting in April 2025 headed by company lawyer Lily Lim, the staff was told that the firm needed 'authentic human images and audio' so that the digital avatars can appear and act like humans. This sparked concern and curiosity amongst the workers. One of them asked if xAI will also sell their biometrics to others, and another one asked if there is a way to decline participation. However, the questions were not met with appropriate answers. The project head said, 'If you have any concerns with regard to the project, you’re welcome to reach out to any of the points of contact listed on the second slide.' After a week, all the tutors at xAI received a notice titled, 'AI Tutor's Role in Advancing.' The document informed that recording audio or video sessions was now a part of the job requirement.Multiple employees told the publication that they were disturbed by Ani's sexual responses. And a lot of them were scared about the fact that their faces can be used in deepfake videos or be used in other xAI products without any consent.Also Read: Elon Musk's Starlink Joins Forces With Maharashtra Government, All You Need To KnowMusk, on the other hand, has been pretty supportive of both Ani and Valentine, who are being marketed as Sexy AI companions. The Tesla boss even said that these bots will help in increasing the birth rate, which is was nothing less than insane. This clearly shows that a lot of dubious things are going on behind providing you with your favorite chatbots or digital AI avatars.