Innovations at CES: High-tech sandals and talking cars

CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics trade fair, is taking place in Las Vegas. The dominant theme this year: artificial intelligence. But some observers speak of “AI washing”.

So far the Volkswagen only speaks English. And the ID7 electric car model can not only speak, but also write human-like texts. It is one of the first to include the AI ​​chatbot ChatGPT – but it should by no means be the only one. In the next few months, more and more VW models will be equipped with OpenAI’s AI, which will then be able to speak more than just English.

The ID7 with AI will be exhibited at CES in Las Vegas, the world’s largest trade fair for consumer electronics. The dominant theme this year: artificial intelligence. For example with cars: In addition to VW, the German car manufacturer Mercedes is also testing virtual AI assistants in cars and is relying on ChatGPT – but so far only in the USA.

At VW, voice control already works pretty well: With the command “Hello IDA”, normal car functions on the ID7 can be controlled by voice. And the intelligent car has even more to offer: When a driver or passenger says “I’m cold,” the heating switches on. The system even recognizes which side was spoken from and increases the temperature accordingly on the driver or passenger side. And the command “I’m hungry for pizza” suggests nearby pizza restaurants.

Rapid implementation of AI assistance

“Only three months passed between the first idea and the first live demo,” says Stefan Voswinkel from VW. Navigation or heating could also be controlled more or less well with previous voice systems. ChatGPT, on the other hand, also recognizes and answers more complex questions. In the quick test, for example, the AI ​​explains what a language model is or gives tips on how to justify a delay.

This has numerous advantages: “What changes for the driver is that my vehicle understands me and I can interact with the vehicle in a completely natural language. Communication becomes much better,” says Voswinkel. However, the cars always rely on a data connection for the extended functions with ChatGPT.

Go faster thanks to high-tech sandals

But AI isn’t just found in the cars at CES. Artificial intelligence for ALL – is written on a huge poster above the exhibition halls. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in the halls: there are AI-supported robots that provide pets with food. A company from the USA is developing glasses that display subtitles in the lenses. Intended for deaf people who can use it to read what a conversation partner is saying in real time.

And a start-up from Texas has even developed a kind of high-tech sandal with built-in motors. It makes it possible to significantly increase normal walking speed. According to the founders, AI is also at play here.

“This is AI washing”

However, tech expert Jay Goldberg from the consulting firm D2D Advisory takes a critical view of this and speaks of “AI washing”: “Suddenly everyone has something with AI. They are doing what they did a year ago, but now call it AI, even though there is no difference in functionality.” The reason is the attention of the public and investors: If you currently want to convince investors to invest in your own products, AI has to be on it.

German companies are also represented in large numbers – Stefan Holzhauer is at the CES for Siemens. His job is to initiate possible collaborations between the group and innovative startups: “I think many startups now simply claim that there is AI in them.” After all, you can see posters and slides everywhere announcing this. “But you have to start playing with these topics or asking two or three critical questions. Because not everything is AI,” says Holzhauer.