The ultimate goal of Amazon and BMW’s joint venture is to combine the BMW voice assistant functionality with both Alexa’s existing ability to respond to more complex and nuanced prompts and a large language model, or “LLM,” a deep learning model backed by a large database of information and potential questions. This combined Alexa chatbot is designed to hold the entirety of your car’s owner’s manual in its database and provide you with bespoke information whenever you audibly ask for it.
For example, if you’re not sure what your car’s ideal tire PSI levels are, you could say, “Alexa, how much should I inflate my tires?” Any question that would normally be answered by thumbing through your owner’s manual, Alexa can answer. Not only that, but you could ask about your car’s various drive modes and then have Alexa automatically switch the car over to it.
If this technology could be perfected, then not only would getting information about your car be much faster and more convenient, but you could do so without taking your eyes off the road. You can quickly and easily learn whatever you need to know about your car without needing to rifle through the glove box to find a dog-eared manual on the side of the road.
“Both companies are firm believers that voice technology can strip away complexity and minimize distractions in the car,” Amazon staff wrote in the company’s CES press release.
