• Artificial Intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, will be integrated into certain Volkswagen vehicles.
Las Vegas, NV - Artificial Intelligence continues its foray into the lives of just about everyone, everywhere. Volkswagen announced today that AI will be integrated into some the brand's models, starting in the second quarter of this year.
As reported by Autoblog, Volkswagen has teamed up with American firm Cerence, which develops voice assistance technologies for the automotive market. The company was spun off from Nuance Communications (also involved in voice recognition), which is now owned by Microsoft, which, among other things, gave us the Dragon program (where you can dictate your texts for faster writing) and developed voice models that helped shape Apple's Siri.
In 2023, Volkswagen presented a new voice assistant called Ida, capable of performing certain on-board functions, as well as answering general questions. The combination of Chat Pro software (from Cerence) and Ida gives Volkswagen's virtual assistant access to the power of ChatGPT.
The first vehicles to integrate the new programming will be those on the MEB and MQB Evo platforms, namely the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5, ID.7, as well as the new Tiguan, Passat and Golf.
The first models with the new tech will arrive at dealerships in the second quarter of this year. VW says the most intelligent version of Ida will be capable of answering general knowledge questions, reading content searched for by occupants, expressing vehicle-specific information and so on.
You’d like your car to read a story to your children? It's about to become a reality.
North Americans will have to be patient, however - the technology won't be available here initially. Volkswagen said at CES that “the feature is being considered for the U.S.,” but the plan is that it will test out the feature in other languages in other markets first.
The company clarified that ChatGPT will not have access to vehicle data. Questions and answers will be immediately deleted to ensure the highest possible level of data protection.
From what we've heard across the industry, this kind of service won't be exclusive to Volkswagen; other manufacturers will also have access to ChatGPT or similar services. We'll see who announces what next.
See also: 2024 Volkswagen Lineup in Canada: Models and Changes
