THE INNOVATIONS TRANSFORMING OUR DRIVING WORLD
WILL AI MAKE YOUR NEW CAR BETTER?
Artificial intelligence is invading the car industry, supposedly bringing benefits to car buyers and manufacturers alike.
IN DETAIL
It seems you can’t move these days without discussions, debates and dog whistles surrounding generative AI. The car industry, like many others, is looking into how the technology can be used in the future – whether that involves the design and manufacture of cars, or improving the experience of the driver and passengers.
What exactly is generative AI? Acollection of algorithms that can be used to generate new content, including text, images and audio. Tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard respond to prompts from users in text form. DALL-E, a tool that’s recently been incorporated into Microsoft’s Bing search engine, is one of many generative AI programs that can create images.
It’s these tools that are rapidly becoming more common in the automotive world, chiefly to augment a car’s infotainment (rather than anything directly connected with driving). DS kickstarted a trial to add ChatGPT into its Iris infotainment system, while Mercedes and Volkswagen are going one step further by installing the tech into all their cars running MB.OS and MIB4 operating systems respectively. Renault’s new 5 EV will also feature a voice assistant named Reno that uses AI algorithms.
‘In this world, hype comes and goes – but this is not the case with AI,’ says Mercedes’ chief technology officer, Markus Schäfer. ‘It got more intense with the introduction of ChatGPT and there is much more focus now. We’re taking all the learnings that we have over the last nine months with ChatGPT in the car and what we have announced is the next development of that.’
IT ALLOWS MORE PERSONALISATION AND A NATURAL WAY OF COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR CAR
Having generative AI installed into your car, according to many car makers, allows a higher degree of personalisation and anatural way of communication between human and machine. DS, for example, says its updated Iris voice assistant allows it to be a travel companion, suggesting good restaurants at your destination or telling your bored kids stories to keep them occupied.
AI will also be used in the new Arene operating system from Toyota/Lexus, due to appear in production cars from 2026, that promises a much more personal infotainment experience.
Behind the scenes, AI is being used in production, with car makers claiming benefits to both cost and the environment. At its Rastatt plant Mercedes is de
