Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz is integrating artificial intelligence into more than 900,000 vehicles as part of a new trial of a ChatGPT-powered voice assistant system.
The company announced on June 16 that the optional beta feature is now available to owners of any vehicle equipped with the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) interface, which currently powers more than 900,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the US Mercedes-Benz car s.
Mercedes drivers can sign up for the new AI voice assistant by sitting in the car and saying "Hey Mercedes, I'd like to join the beta program." Alternatively, users can sign up via the automaker's "Me" app. The Germany- based manufacturer explained that ChatGPT will "complement" its existing voice control functionality by expanding its existing functionality:
"While most voice assistants are limited to predefined tasks and responses, ChatGPT leverages large language models to greatly improve natural language understanding and expand the topics it can respond to."
The ChatGPT integration will allow users to ask the voice assistant questions related or unrelated to the driving experience, and the chatbot can reportedly provide "comprehensive answers."
Any voice command data collected by the voice assistant will be stored in the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud system, where it will be anonymized and analyzed, the company said. The testing program is expected to last three months. After that time, Mercedez said it will re-evaluate whether it plans to further develop ChatGPT-enabled voice control features. While this marks the latest step for the car company in the field of artificial intelligence, Mercedes-Benz has been involved in blockchain-related projects for several years.
In January 2022, the car company teamed up with several non-fungible token (NFT) artists to celebrate its G-Class lineup. The manufacturer also began using Ocean Protocol's blockchain in July 2020 to collect various user data. In March 2018, the company also launched its own cryptocurrency to reward eco-friendly driving.
