ChatGPT and Other AI Tools to Reshape the Auto Industry
The auto industry is on the verge of a new era of innovation, as generative AI technology such as ChatGPT is set to drive transformation across the industry, from design and self-driving testing to infotainment and factory processes. According to Danny Shapiro, the Vice President of Automotive at technology company Nvidia, AI is no longer under the radar and is now becoming accessible to everyone. Suppliers are developing ways to integrate generative AI into their products, which can optimize industrial processes, enable self-driving development and enhance infotainment systems.
Generative AI is a set of algorithms that can create new, realistic content based on "training data" such as text or images. Chatbots like ChatGPT can accept text or image inputs to create text outputs, with use cases that include writing software code, summarizing articles or analyzing datasets. In the automotive industry, generative AI can simplify and speed up the design process for parts and even the entire vehicle. The tools can be taught the laws of physics or thermodynamics to modify existing designs to be more fuel-efficient or aerodynamic.
Generative design models still need to be refined by humans, and the output quality depends largely on the quality of the prompts. Car enthusiasts can use tools such as Midjourney to redesign their favorite models or create their dream cars. Additionally, generative AI can help create more efficient factories by producing more efficient parts and developing more efficient ways of putting these parts together.
Generative AI can also enhance infotainment systems by allowing more natural voice commands. This technology is ‘context aware’ and can maintain an understanding of the dialogue. For instance, the voice assistant, enabled by generative AI, would know that the subject of the conversation was the weather if the driver would ask, "What is the weather in Detroit?" followed by, "And in London?"
Generative AI can also be an efficient way to create scenarios that would 'teach' autonomous vehicles how to maneuver. Synthetic data generation can be used to create all kinds of scenarios that could exist, which can be used to train AI models and validate self-driving systems. However, these uses of generative AI will take several years to be refined and applied. The speed of deployment depends in large part on being able to connect cars to the cloud.
However, providers of design and engineering tools such as Dassault, Autodesk, and Adobe are quickly integrating generative AI into their systems. According to Shapiro, the combination of digital twins and new AI tools "will make a huge impact in terms of efficiencies, cost reductions, and time savings." Because AI doesn't need to sleep and is more capable than humans at specific tasks, it can help achieve much better results by directing it to specific problems.
