Mercedes-Benz Is Adding ChatGPT to Cars for AI Voice Commands

German automaker Mercedes-Benz introduced Thursday that it’s going to add OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot to its automobiles by way of a beta program for the Mercedes-Benz Consumer Expertise (MBUX) function in its automobiles, enabling AI-driven voice instructions and extra performance.

The beta will start on Friday, June 16, and run for 3 months. Drivers seeking to be a part of the beta merely have to ask their automotive about it to get began. The initiative can be restricted to america market.

Mercedes-Benz mentioned that the favored chatbot is coming to its automobiles by way of the Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service launched by the tech large in March. Whereas the addition of ChatGPT is new, the MBUX voice assistant and its “Hey Mercedes” function launched in 2018 on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

“Voice instructions for the AI are by way of the automotive,” a gross sales consultant at Mercedes-Benz of Carlsbad in California advised Decrypt, “so you’ll be chatting with the automotive straight.”

“The voice assistant lets drivers change the temperature within the automotive, play music, or set navigation,” the salesperson mentioned, including that instructions solely work contained in the automotive.

Whereas the present model of the “Hey Mercedes” function can reply questions, the improve to ChatGPT’s massive language mannequin goals to make the responses extra intuitive. Nonetheless, widespread concern over the protection and effectiveness of AI instruments could trigger concern amongst some Benz homeowners.

For these Mercedes-Benz drivers not snug with ChatGPT of their automobiles, the corporate mentioned that information safety is a prime precedence. ChatGPT will function inside a “managed cloud,” the corporate added, because the automaker screens for potential dangers and methods to enhance the system.

“The mixing of ChatGPT with Microsoft in our managed cloud setting is a milestone on our approach to making our automobiles the middle of our clients’ digital lives,” Markus Schäfer, Mercedes-Benz Group CTO, mentioned in a press release. “All the things is below one large purpose: Redefining the connection along with your Mercedes.”

No stranger to testing expertise in its automobiles, Mercedes-Benz partnered with UK-based blockchain startup Circulor in early 2020 to scale back CO2 emissions in its provide chain.