It was a fun morning trying to consider all the ways that ChatGPT, the Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence chat service, could help out GM owners. For instance, it could teach Camaro owners how to spell the name of their car! It seems like GM has other plans, and that’s ok, too.
Today’s Morning Dump is going to be all about the promise of the future. Is it e-fuels? Is it AI? Is it a Vietnamese carmaker building cars in the U.S.? Is it better cooperation between the U.S. and EU on EVs? Let’s find out.
GM Wants To Use ChatGPT To Make Your Car More Helpful
ChatGPT, the magical AI service that writes term papers, legal documents, and comical folks songs, is now in the minds of GM planners looking to make the company’s cars more appealing for the future. According to an article in Semafor, the two-year old Microsoft + GM autonomous car pair-up might finally bear fruit in the form of an AI-powered virtual assistant.
If you’ve never tried to use a non-CarPlay interface to do things while driving, it goes something like this:
“Hey car, can you please text RB Mom that I’ll be 15 minutes late?”
“I’m sorry, I did not understand, please repeat.”
“Car, can you please text RB Mom that I’ll be 15 minutes late?”
“Texting Arby’s on Main: ‘I’ll eat 15 Gatorades, is this correct?”
“No!”
“I’m sorry, please try again.”
“Forget it, I’ll just crash my car.”
Honestly, even Apple CarPlay sometimes has problems.
When evaluating headlines, always look for the verbs. The “want” term in all the headlines about GM using ChatGPT is clear that it’s a plan and not something tested and functional. Here’s some concept of how it might work, from the Semafor article above:
The voice-activated chatbot will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, which has exclusive rights to the OpenAI tech that powers ChatGPT, image creator DALL·E, and Microsoft’s Bing chatbot.
Scott Miller, GM’s vice president of software defined vehicle and operating system, confirmed some of the details, including that the company is developing an AI assistant, which he said could push things beyond the simple voice commands available in today’s cars.
For instance, if a driver got a flat tire, they could ask the car to explain how to change it, which might result in the car playing an instructional video on a display inside the vehicle.
This all sounds fine. As someone who jumps from car to car often, it would certainly be nice to have an AI that can automate some annoying tasks (pairing, et cetera). The question one has to ask with all automaker-installed infotainment systems, of course, is whether or not something installed in a car is going to perform better than a device someone will bring with them. If Apple creates (or buys) a superior AI system, why not just use that?
Still, a K.I.T.T. car would be awesome. if you could put this in a Fiero that looks like a McLaren P1 you could have a K.I.T.T. car kit car.
Porsche Wants To Lower The Temperature On e-fuels
Porsche’s super high on the concept of e-fuels lately and Germany’s gone so far as to try and block the EU adoption of a car ban in order to carve out an exception for cars powered by the carbon neutral fuels. E-fuels, if you’re not familiar, are synthetics made from trapping carbon dioxide or monoxide and combined them with hydrogen produced through renewable resources to create a gas substitue. Porsche had a big announcement this morning with plans for the future, and we’ll have a post with greater detail on that later, but Reuters has a little blip of what CEO Oliver Blume thinks about the e-fuel debate:
Porsche (P911_p.DE) CEO Oliver Blume characterised the debate over e-fuels as “emotional” and said there was no conflict between electrification and building out e-fuel production during a press call on Monday following the carmaker’s results.
[…]
“We can adjust tax politics to make e-fuels cheaper … politics should support investments to make prices more attractive,” Blume said. “It is worth it. I know no other possibility to decarbonise combustion engine cars.”
This is a funny quote. It’s true there probably isn’t another obvious and scalable way to remove carbon from the use of combustion engines without creating a carbon neutral fuel. However, it’s sort of like saying there isn’t another easy way to stop the grizzly bear waiters from eating all the salmon out of the buffet other than putting muzzles on them. Sure! But you could, just, not have grizzly bear waiters…
I’m on Blume’s side, though. I like the way internal combustion cars perform, and e-fuels seem like a way to try to eat our cake and have it, too. I don’t know that it’ll work and I’m afraid it’ll just turn into something for rich people to keep buying Ferraris and 911s, but maybe they’ll save enough for old BMWs?
Biden And EU Trying To Find Common Ground On EVs
The Inflation Reduction Act may end up being the most important piece of legislation passed since the American Cares Act, and possibly even more important. The IRA, through the use of contingent tax credits, essentially makes it impossible to build mainstream electric cars anywhere outside of the North America and also hope to compete on price.
This has infuriated the Europeans. What country wants to see its domestic producers suddenly move all their production elsewhere?
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Union, and President Joe Biden, have been negotiating to try to soften the blow for Europe (a continent that Biden needs to keep up its support for Ukraine in its war against Russia). What’s the outcome going to be?
Biden and von der Leyen were expected to agree to open negotiations between the U.S. and the EU on a deal that could boost the use of European minerals critical in the production of electric vehicle batteries that are eligible for U.S. tax credits through Biden’s roughly $375 billion clean energy law that passed last year, according to White House officials.
The EU responded to the IRA with its own plan for subsidies. Both the EU and the U.S. want to help automakers in their countries but, at the same time, the countries want to avoid a costly subsidy war.
VinFast Plant Now Pushed Back To 2025
VinFast, the Vietnamese automaker that makes maybe fine cars, has had a rough go of it lately. The sudden Tesla price drops led it to quickly drop its own prices, and now we’re finding out the company’s plans to open a facility in North Carolina next year have been further delayed.
Bloomberg, via The Detroit News, has the scoop:
The Vietnamese company had most recently said it planned to start trial production at the plant by 2024. Earlier this week a company spokesperson said VinFast had “received the air permit and we are preparing for subcontractors bidding and will start the construction soon.”
An updated filing for VinFast’s planned U.S. initial public offering released Friday however said that commissioning of the facility is targeted for 2025.
“Preconstruction work for phase one commenced in the third quarter of 2022, with commissioning targeted for 2025,” the filing said. “Phase one of the facility is expected to have an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles a year” rising to 250,000 cars upon completion of phase two.
This is bad news for VinFast. By 2025, many automakers appear ready to meet IRA production requirements and therefore offer a $7,500 discount at point-of-sale. Until VinFast can build cars here, it either has to try and discount its cars to match, or risk losing marketshare. There’s no real victory in either.
The Big Question
What would you like a K.I.T.T.-like car assistant to do? Would you use it?
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
Photo Credits: Vinfast, Universal, GM, Porsche, The White House
Flush: All I want is for “open butthole” (to open the chargeport) to become an industry standard because I am a big, dumb child and butt jokes are funny.
I honestly don’t find voice controls to be super useful? Half the time, they’re for something that’d be less distracting to just pull over and deal with. I don’t really like talking on the phone in the car (or anywhere), so I try to avoid even that. Even the Alexa Home spyware-device-pod in my friend’s house is just something I tell to make fart sounds because beyond that and playing music, I don’t really get the appeal. Maybe if K.I.T.T. could nail directions, IDK.
“Open butthole” really is the pinnacle of voice controls for me, though. It’s a function that’s annoying to dig through a menu to access, and thus, this is one of the times a voice command actually makes sense to use. A button or lever would do the same thing would probably be preferred, but then I wouldn’t get to say “butthole.”
*would do the same thing and would… (yeah, yeah, jumped the gun before the edit button rolls out)
Just a related thought.
I still find it hard to beleive voice recognition actually works.It’s been tried many times over the years and every attempt failed.Microsoft’s last effort (released about the same time as vista?) was unbelievably bad! That was so dumb it was only useful for comedic purposes.
Then Google came along and suddenly we have systems that *actually work*.Even with accents!
I’d go so far as to say it’s the first technology i’ve seen that’s indistinguishable from magic.It’s that big a deal
William Daniels is still alive, so while he still is, let’s see if we can get his permission to have his voice for an intelligent in-car assistant? I know the tech exists to make it happen without his direct input, but would like his blessing.
I would prefer Majel Barrett, the voice of the ship’s computer on Star Trek TNG. She died in 2008 but I think there are enough voice samples.
“I’m sorry Dave, I don’t think it is advisable to turn on the defroster at this time”
KILL ALL HUMANS!!!!!
Depending on the data set ChatGPT is using, it’s entirely possible it thinks “Camero” is the correct spelling. After all, it’s just a big probability engine and I suspect the Camaro to Camero ratio is pretty close to 1:1 on the internet.
The whole KITT voice thing in a car is one of those things that SOUNDS like a good idea, but will likely be a terrible idea in practice.
I started daydreaming during a way too long discussion about at work about the potential uses for ChatGPT (about an hour that should have been restricted to “Don’t”). In my daydream I imagined that ChatGPT was the new Theranos and there was some huge call-center type of place somewhere that had thousands of people frantically pounding away on keyboards to provide the answers.
Not sure why Europe expects us to subsidize their country auto industry when they dont do any for their own let alone ours? They are bending over for China but hey USA help us to. But yeah Biden will cave double the cost, probably let china in too as he runs for a 2nd term gonna need that illegal political bribe money.
Another well thought out, highly educated comment. Well done.
Horchak? Is that you??
It is.
Thank you. I was wondering what happened to Bad Take Dave and now the question has been answered.
Well which former president had undeclared Chinese back accounts ? I’ll give you two hints It’s the same Former president that deregulated the rail industry leading to a crash and the same former president that deregulated the banking industry that led to a crash.
What would you like a K.I.T.T.-like car assistant to do?
K.IT.T! Get me hookers and blow, NOW!!
Would you use it?
Every damn day!
…ChatGPT To Make Your Car More Helpful
I do not want my electronic devices listening to my conversations, which are sent back to a mothership “for quality assurance or training purposes.” In our Sprinter, I’ve not found an opt-out to disable the “Hey Mercedes” feature, which isn’t a feature at all and chimes in on conversations seemingly randomly. The sending data back without authorization is bad, lack of ability to shut off listening is worse, and the usability is non-existent. It’s maddening and unforgivable.
When reached for comment the ChatGTP empowered GM vehicle’s only response was, “Please place the items in the bagging area.”
Well that’s better than “Put the lotion in the basket.”
There is literally nothing that the technology in my 2010 Chevy Malibu can’t do that I miss/want. Nothing. Hell, I can probably say the same thing about my 91 vette if it had blue tooth for that random call that I just have to answer.
More is just stuff that costs more, will break, stop being supported, track me and try to sell me stuff. It’s like those old TV/VCR/DVD combos. It’s all a compromise to begin with and then one thing breaks and your stuck dealing with it. Except in the case of these cars that corrupt infotainment file bricks your whole damn car and doesn’t just mean that your last VHS copy of the Goonies is stuck in the tv on your kitchen counter.
Driver-aid tech peaked with the ultrasound range-alerts things; game-changer for city dwellers who are always parallel parking. Adaptive cruise control is nice, but not a must-have. Lane keeping crap is just annoying. Anything more “advanced” is more often dangerous & infuriating than anything else.
I turned Lane Keep Assist off in my car. I’m having enough trouble dodging pot holes and road debris without having the car try to steer me into it. I do like blind spot monitoring; more for the cross traffic alert it provides when backing out from between two Chevy Suburbans rather than what’s approaching from the left or right in traffic.
I would like to have advanced cruise for stop and go driving if I sat in traffic. I can see that one. But I don’t sit in traffic, so I could honestly car less as long as it is an option I can un-check and not pay for.
Aa for lane keep – I turned off land keep assist on the last rental I had because it was making everyone in the car sick.
THIS!
I’ll pick and choose which modern features i’ll have on my car thanks. And there wont be many!
Adaptive cruise control i’d use often. With some reluctance i’ll have emergency braking too.It’s like an insurance policy.
Blind spot cameras ,hell yes. In fact i want the all-round camera system used in some Nissans.It shows an overhead view of my car and where other vehicles,kids etc around it. Sooooo simple and useful.
I can’t think of anything that I need/want to talk to my car about. I guess if it’s broken and it can tell me what the problem is that might be helpful. As far as driving around goes though, I’d prefer not to be distracted by my car trying to converse with me.
A KITT car with the original KITT, would be f’ing awesome.
A KITT car with Microsoft AI following every damned thing I’m doing and reporting everything back sounds like one more step to the eventual hellscape we are barreling towards of no one having any privacy ever unless they are completely off the grid.
I don’t mind the takeout guy having my address. I do mind a faceless corporation aggregating all my takeout orders for the past two months, selling that data and my health insurance going up because I’ve been eating too much Chipotle.
Please sign in with one-drive to start your car.
I recently installed Windows 11 and it took some googling, disconnecting the computer from the internet, and some key combinations to bring up a cmd windows to bypass using a Microsoft cloud account.
It’s my PC, I want a local account.
I haven’t built a computer in a long while. Getting close to doing so, but when I do I’m strongly considering dual-boot with some flavor of Linux so I don’t have to worry about all the weird shit MS puts on the computer.
Wait til you hear about the Edge-based UI they’re using to integrate the Bing AI with the car’s actual UX API.
…. that was not the comment I typed, is a joke. Apparently the commenting system is looking for HTML tags now.
(/s)
In the 90s, one of the customers at the little convenience store I ran was a guy who had built a copy of KITT. Not just the appearance: he had actually installed a computer in it. And seemed to be making money producing parts for others who wanted a clone, too.
>every time I see KITT mentioned, I think of him. He did some awesome fabrication building what he had, and I always wonder if that guy from the Smith Mountain Lake area of SW Va is still in the game.
The problem with a lot of AI use cases is that they always work great until you get to an edge case, and then you quickly figure out that 3/4 of everything involves edge cases.
ChatGPT is also being recklessly deployed. But funny story there:
Pierre Poilievre is a Canadian politician with the Conservative party who is trying to court conspiracy theorists. Unfortunately for him, someone asked ChatGPT about a link between him and something they didn’t like.
Well ChatGPT obliged, and wrote a long conspiracy article about something his wife did. It even had sources! The sources were all broken links. Because, you know, none of this was based on reality, it was based on whatever the computer made up.
And then the conspiracy theorists found it! They started asking why Poilievre was linked to this thing (he wasn’t). They started asking why sites deleted these news stories (they didn’t because they were never real). They started crowing about this massive coverup that didn’t happen.
Now this was funny because it was Poilievre, who was trying to make these people his base, and is a politician I personally absolutely despise – but I’ll avoid subjecting this comment section to Canadian politics, at least for a moment. But it’s a reminder that as good as these things get, replacing people with them could have real consequences, especially since a computer not only doesn’t check its sources, it frequently makes them up.
Ok, now that’s funny. I approve of AI for schadenfreude of people I do not support. Just can’t allow it to provide schadenfreude for others against me.
Hell no. The Butlerian Jihad can’t come soon enough, as far as I’m concerned.
I don’t want a chatty car. When I am driving, I want to drive, operating all relevant systems on my own without having to look for the right spot to press on a touchscreen. I want to concentrate on driving and not have to think about what system is going to step in and, supposedly, do the work for me., thank you very much.
One of my biggest concerns on the road is other operators who have delegated thinking to their onboard computers. They are, IMO, as big a menace as those chatting away on their cellphones.
What problem does the chatbot solve?
Your Android Auto or Apple Carplay doesn’t understand you? Better mics and better voice training.
It can play an instructional video on the screen? Existing apps can do that based on your search. Not new.
It decides in context what you need? You do that already. The car doesn’t need to and won’t do as good a job.
Remember when all the tech articles were talking about everything blockchain could do and trying to force it into everything? AI has some uses, but it does not need to be jammed into every facet of life. The tech world has a fancy toy they want everywhere.
Just want to reinforce how much microphone placement and quality would make a HUGE improvement. I don’t know what GM uses, but their mics pic me up much better than just about anyone else.
KILL ALL HUMANS!!!!!
The last thing I need is another voice in my head telling whst to do
I don’t like my phone assistant stopping me from making calls by interrupting and saying assistant can do it faster. Sure because you blocked me. I don’t want my car stopping me either. I have been driving on my own for over 40 years. I don’t want an assistant to do a damn thing.
If my K.I.T.T can’t turbo boost me over a canyon, what are we even doing here?
Re: IRA negotiations with Europe.
After they figure that out, I think the Korean & Japanese governments also want a discussion about the subsidies. As someone who will be in the market for a new EV by the end of the year, I plan to grab some popcorn and watch the results.
Big Question: As an introvert, I don’t even like talking to people. I don’t want to talk to a damn machine.
Yeah. Every free trade partner is looking at this and trying to figure out how to get their agreement enforced such that they can take advantage of the subsidy. It’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out.