Chatty Car: Mercedes is planning to add ChatGPT to its infotainment system

Mercedes is planning to introduce a new addition to their already luxurious vehicles. Mercedes customers in the United States may soon get ChatGPT as part of their infotainment system. OpenAI’s conversational AI bot may be integrated into the MBUX infotainment system, providing an enhanced level of conversation to the cars. Owners of Mercedes cars with the MBUX systems will have the option to participate in a beta program starting June 16. By activating the ChatGPT functionality through a simple command to the car, such as “Hey Mercedes, I want to join the beta program,” users can experience the capabilities of this versatile language model. What will ChatGPT do inside a car? It remains uncertain how exactly this feature will be utilized. Cars have specific purposes such as driving, navigation, media control, and essential functions. In some situations, a voice interface can be the safest and most convenient way to interact with the car without distractions. ChatGPT excels in mimicking human-like conversation on a wide range of topics and even generating new information to ensure smooth exchanges. It can summarize and synthesize existing content, write or provide code, or assist with tasks like creating wedding vows. But the question arises: are these activities drivers or even passengers would want to engage in while on the road? In a media release, Mercedes says:

“Users will experience a voice assistant that not only accepts natural voice commands but can also conduct conversations. 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.”

A complex query could pose a challenge for a conventional voice interface. If users don’t have a passenger to assist them with the search, it could be convenient to have something like ChatGPT integrated into the car. Is it only theoretical? However, it seems unlikely that drivers are specifically requesting features like finding new dinner recipes while on the road. It raises the question of whether this is truly the best use case they could come up with. The benefits of this technology may seem theoretical, and it’s doubtful that drivers themselves expressed a need for it. It’s possible that Mercedes simply decided to outsource its voice interface service to a third party, like ChatGPT in Microsoft AI, and prominently displays this integration within MBUX and the Mercedes Me app. It’s like a nested doll, where the different components work together, but it’s not entirely clear who is responsible for what in this partnership. What about privacy? It’s important to note that Mercedes-Benz retains and uses the conversations users have with their voice interface. While Mercedes emphasizes its commitment to user data protection, the collected voice command data is stored in the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud. Although the data is anonymized and analyzed, this practice raises privacy considerations. By analyzing the specific requests made by users, Mercedes-Benz developers gain valuable insights that help them prioritize and enhance the voice control system. The beta program serves the purpose of understanding how people utilize the feature, which in turn informs further improvements to the intuitive voice assistant and helps shape the rollout strategy for large language models in different markets and languages. Considering it is a beta test, gathering information about user behaviour and preferences is an integral part of the process. It’s worth mentioning that if privacy is a primary concern for someone, it’s possible that owning a new Mercedes may not align with their preferences. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.