VW to integrate ChatGpt into vehicles by mid year.

[wemay]

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volkswagen-brings-chatgpt-into-compact-cars-2024-01-08/

This will be interesting for what BITOG calls BETA users.

From article:
"From raising the temperature when it hears "I'm feeling cold" to showing the nearest Indian restaurant upon hearing "I want butter chicken", the AI can recognise and respond to a range of demands, according to executives from Volkswagen and Cerence (CRNC.O), who partnered with Volkswagen on the technology.

Customers can now adjust functionalities from their vehicle without touching a button, Kai Gruenitz, the Volkswagen brand's board member for technical development, told Reuters on the sidelines of the CES trade fair.

Our customers don't want to manually adjust their seats ... they want to use speech dialogue systems," he said.

Critics say adding generative AI in vehicles, though a step forward from the interactions possible today, is far behind the AI leap that was expected a few years ago, especially with fully autonomous vehicles. Automakers disagree.

"So if you have Apple CarPlay or Android or something, you are not able to adjust functionalities inside of the vehicle. That's the next step," Gruenitz said. "I think what our customers are really looking for is seamless, intuitive usage of their car."

Volkswagen said it was the first volume manufacturer to make the technology a standard feature in its compact segment cars. General Motors said last March it was working on a virtual personal assistant using AI models behind ChatGPT.

Mercedes-Benz ran a test programme last June enabling around 900,000 vehicles which had the automaker's "MBUX" system to download ChatGPT, with the view of users eventually being able to carry out tasks like making movie or restaurant reservations from behind the wheel.

 

[Vitamin Yoda]

We're already paying for a bunch of useless gimmicks in our vehicles, what's one more? This is how manufacturers justify price hikes, while build quality goes down, and maintenance costs go up. A lot of people just want reliable transportation that won't eat up half their income.

We had voice commands on computers since the 90s, and not far after that on vehicles. Most people never enjoyed using it, and they're not gonna start now.

I don't see this feature going anywhere, except making customers wallets lighter. It won't be "free", that's for sure.

To add a bit more cynicism: I already have a smartphone, thank you very much. I can use it while parked to order tickets to a bad movie and make dinner reservations at an overpriced restaurant where I'll most likely eat microwaved or precoocked and reheated food.

 

[cptbarkey]

Solutions to problems that didn’t exist.

 

[simple_gifts]

I already have a smartphone,

Probably once sold as an overpriced gimmick/gadget nobody is going to buy

 

[TiGeo]

I guess my MK8 will be AI.

 

[Vitamin Yoda]

Probably once sold as an overpriced gimmick/gadget nobody is going to buy

Not really. Sure, the first iPhones were pretty bad and overpriced, but Android phones came along pretty quickly. HTC made some great phones back in the day that were way more accessible.

The smartphone isn't a gimmick, and was nevwr imagined as such. It was in fact envisioned as the portable personal computer that eveyone should have. People like Bill Gates talked about it in the late 90s. Apple got reabilitated and jumped on the bandwagon. Several companies were working on the smartphone.

A gimmick is a pseudo-solution in search of a problem. The smartphone is not a gimmick, though it has become a problem in itself.

ChatGPT and other LLMs are good at recombining existing text and wrapping it in smart sounding language. Give ChatGPT some real challenges and whatch it fall appart real quick.

The AI bubble will burst. We're nowhere near the singularity, and probably never will. However, those who heavily invested in it have every intention on turning a sweet profit.

The real problem, when it comes to vehicles, is how can I avoid paying for it if I don't want it. Just like with so many other varely useful features that we already get and have to pay for, it will be difficult.

 

[SC Maintenance]

What could possibly go wrong? / sarc

 

[SC Maintenance]

Not really. Sure, the first iPhones were pretty bad and overpriced, but Android phones came along pretty quickly. HTC made some great phones back in the day that were way more accessible.

The smartphone isn't a gimmick, and was nevwr imagined as such. It was in fact envisioned as the portable personal computer that eveyone should have. People like Bill Gates talked about it in the late 90s. Apple got reabilitated and jumped on the bandwagon. Several companies were working on the smartphone.

A gimmick is a pseudo-solution in search of a problem. The smartphone is not a gimmick, though it has become a problem in itself.

ChatGPT and other LLMs are good at recombining existing text and wrapping it in smart sounding language. Give ChatGPT some real challenges and whatch it fall appart real quick.

The AI bubble will burst. We're nowhere near the singularity, and probably never will. However, those who heavily invested in it have every intention on turning a sweet profit.

The real problem, when it comes to vehicles, is how can I avoid paying for it if I don't want it. Just like with so many other varely useful features that we already get and have to pay for, it will be difficult.

I don't disagree completely, but AI isn't going to fall apart. Chat GPT might.

There already trying AI models to search for plagiarism in college professors publication - in light of the recent Harvard scandal. They also think it might be able to decipher dead languages of lost people in archeology that we can't today - and learn there story. While neither of these will change the average persons life, there interesting starts.

If your current job revolves around downloading a file from a server, manipulating it in some way, and loading it back to the server - odds are good your going to need a new job. Insurance, law, banking - likely at risk.

Flip side - if you do almost anything with your hands - not going to happen. They did a study to see what kind of robot would be needed to clean a hotel room - I think i Japan. Even if the hotel room was very sparse and standardized, its all but impossible. The motion to make a bed vs clean the mirror are just too far apart.

 

[PF52]

I already have a smartphone, thank you very much. I can use it while parked to order tickets to a bad movie and make dinner reservations....

Or you can use it while driving, like everyone else.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Pretty cool if you ask me... Tech for the win, especially as younger people continue to consume more of the driving population. It needs to be integrated more with the operation of the vehicle.

 

[edyvw]

I don't disagree completely, but AI isn't going to fall apart. Chat GPT might.

There already trying AI models to search for plagiarism in college professors publication - in light of the recent Harvard scandal. They also think it might be able to decipher dead languages of lost people in archeology that we can't today - and learn there story. While neither of these will change the average persons life, there interesting starts.

If your current job revolves around downloading a file from a server, manipulating it in some way, and loading it back to the server - odds are good your going to need a new job. Insurance, law, banking - likely at risk.

Flip side - if you do almost anything with your hands - not going to happen. They did a study to see what kind of robot would be needed to clean a hotel room - I think i Japan. Even if the hotel room was very sparse and standardized, its all but impossible. The motion to make a bed vs clean the mirror are just too far apart.

I just reviewed paper that used intentionally Chat GOT. It is BAD, REALLY BAD!

 

[Vercingetorix]

How does any of this work when I’m 30 miles outside of Fallon Nevada and have no cell coverage?

 

[Vercingetorix]

"So if you have Apple CarPlay or Android or something, you are not able to adjust functionalities inside of the vehicle. That's the next step," Gruenitz said. "I think what our customers are really looking for is seamless, intuitive usage of their car."

This is incorrect.

My Porsche App provides new features within Apple CarPlay®

Porsche becomes the first car maker to integrate vehicle functions within an app in Apple CarPlay® to create an innovative, personalized user experience.

newsroom.porsche.com

 

[andrew_j]

This tech costs very little to add as it is (optional) software especially if part of CarPlay or another piece.

Not a price hike exactly like adding built in Nav or a safety system with camera / sensors / display changes .

 

[Pablo]

Pretty cool if you ask me... Tech for the win, especially as younger people continue to consume more of the driving population. It needs to be integrated more with the operation of the vehicle.

You see no downsides to these things?

I guess I'm just Ludwig the Luddite

 

[cptbarkey]

You see no downsides to these things?

I guess I'm just Ludwig the Luddite

He has been beating the EV drum endlessly, not surprised.

 

[Pablo]

He has been beating the EV drum endlessly, not surprised.

Bad enough what is already in my truck and phone.

Using gipAIFBI - yeah no.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

I bet a good portion of people poo-pooing this are sitting next to an Alexa device

Vehicle voice control has been around for years, and it has been trash for years because it doesn’t have the smarts to really understand the full variety of human language. This will change that.

Imagine a CEL that reads you the code and tells you what’s wrong. Imagine a backup camera that recognizes children, animals, and other objects and warns you. Imagine adding a waypoint to your navigation by just saying “I am hungry.” Imagine navigation that knows when you’ll need fuel and the cheapest place to get it, and builds that into your routing.

I guarantee all of us are going to be more heavily using AI in 5 years, perhaps without even fully realizing it.

 

[wings&wheels]

Good for VW.

Appeals to their target audience; younger buyers. I wouldn't want it in the slightest, but the folks who do probably don't see the appeal in old cars that give a whiff of hot oil when you turn on the heat. Different strokes....

 

[oil pan 4]

Another great reason to never buy another VW product ever again.