General Motors to implement ChatGPT in its cars: Report

American multinational automotive manufacturer General Motors is reportedly exploring the use for ChatGPT, the popular generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool made by Microsoft-backed OpenAI. 

The initiative is part of a broader collaboration between the automaker and Microsoft. In 2021, General Motors, which currently manufactures Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC cars and trucks, teamed up with Microsoft to bring the AI system to its car as a virtual personal assistant. 

“The chatbot could be used to access information on how to use vehicle features normally found in an owner’s manual, programme functions such as a garage door code or integrate schedules from a calendar,” General Motor’s vice president Scott Miller said in an interview with Reuters. 

The news was also confirmed by American news website Semafor, which said that the American automaker was working on a virtual personal assistant that uses AI models behind ChatGPT.  

“This shift is not just about one single capability like the evolution of voice commands, but instead means that customers can expect their future vehicles to be far more capable and smarter when it comes to emerging technologies,” a spokesperson from the company told the news site. 

According to a statement by the automaker, the concept is such that if the vehicle has a flat tyre, the AI system can guide the driver on how to change it with videos and detailed instructions tailored to the exact conditions of the vehicle 

Microsoft, like other big tech companies such as Google and Apple, among others, has been ramping up its efforts to embed more technology in vehicles, from infotainment systems to automated driving to operating systems that control battery performance and multiple other functions of a vehicle. 

Released to the public on November 30, ChatGPT has generated a lot of attention from users, industry executives, and businesses. Within five days of its launch, it crossed one million users, according to a Twitter post by OpenAI CEO and founder Sam Altman. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a multi-billion-dollar investment in ChatGPT-owner OpenAI and said it aims to add the chatbot's technology into all its products.