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OpenAI’s ChatGPT is based on AI language models that could soon be used to power virtual assistants in General Motors cars. Reuters reported on Friday that a GM executive said the American car company is looking into how ChatGPT could be used as part of a larger partnership with Microsoft.
Last week, Semafor also said that “people who know the product” said that GM was using Microsoft‘s Azure cloud service, which has a ChatGPT API, to build a virtual personal assistant for its cars.
In an interview with Reuters last week, GM Vice President Scott Miller talked about the project. He said, “ChatGPT is going to be in everything.” Miller said that the chatbot could go beyond the voice commands that are already used in cars by giving drivers information about their cars. For example, the chatbot could tell the driver what to do when a diagnostic light comes on the dashboard or show the user how to change a flat tire by showing a video on the car’s entertainment system.
Ford’s assistant, which doesn’t have a name yet, could also be programmed to do things like open garage doors or use a calendar to remind the driver of upcoming meetings and tasks. Semafor says that GM’s voice assistant might not work like ChatGPT or Bing Chatbot because the company plans to add a “car-specific layer” to OpenAI’s technology.
“This change isn’t just about one feature, like how voice commands are getting better,” a GM spokesperson told Reuters on Friday. “Instead, it means that customers can expect their future vehicles to be much more capable and up-to-date in general when it comes to new technologies.”
Microsoft already has a “long-term strategic relationship” with General Motors. In 2021, GM’s self-driving subsidiary Cruise partnered with Microsoft to use Azure to build GM’s self-driving cars. General Motors has not yet given a release date or even made a formal announcement about its plans to integrate ChatGPT. With so few details, it could be a while before we can reenact Knight Rider scenes in a new Chevrolet.
