- ChatGPT is coming to your car.
- Mercedes-Benz announced a beta program inviting owners to add the AI tool to their vehicles.
First, everything got "smart." Smart thermostats, touchscreen fridges, internet-connected toilets. Now practically every business on the planet is on a mission to work artificial-intelligence tools into its products.
That includes cars. Mercedes-Benz on Thursday announced that it's bringing ChatGPT, the eerily human large-language model that kicked off the ongoing frenzy around AI, to its vehicles.
Starting Friday, some 900,000 Mercedes drivers in the US will be able to opt into a beta program and add ChatGPT capability to their cars through a software update. The German automaker says ChatGPT will augment its existing "Hey Mercedes" voice assistant, allowing it to respond to a wider variety of prompts and even conduct full-on conversations.
So if you run out of podcasts or get bored in traffic, you may soon be able to ask ChatGPT about the meaning of life or command it to compose a Shakespearean sonnet about I-95.
"Soon, participants who ask the Voice Assistant for details about their destination, to suggest a new dinner recipe, or to answer a complex question, will receive a more comprehensive answer – while keeping their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road," Mercedes said in a press release.
The program will also be available in the Mercedes-Benz app.
On the whole, voice assistants in cars are hit or miss. Sometimes they're helpful for cranking up the A/C or putting on the butt warmers when you don't want to fiddle with touchscreen controls, and sometimes they fail at basic commands.
I've had positive experiences with Mercedes-Benz's software in the past, and maybe ChatGPT will make it even better and more helpful.
General Motors is also working on a ChatGPT-powered voice assistant for its cars, Semafor first reported.