Android Auto Is Getting Help From AI To Keep You Safely In Touch With Your Contacts While Driving
Everywhere you look, the tech industry seems to find new and creative ways to integrate AI into our everyday lives. Now, it appears that Android is attempting to use artificial intelligence to allow drivers to interface with their smart devices more safely.
Google Cloud and Samsung have recently partnered to bring AI-controlled software to Galaxy S24 series devices. This partnership will allow those who own one of these devices to use Google's Gemini artificial intelligence software in conjunction with several apps and services Samsung has created. According to a press release from Android, "With Gemini Pro, our best model for scaling across a wide range of tasks, you can interact with familiar Samsung apps in more helpful ways than ever before."
One area of particular interest is how these new smart interfacing techniques will affect Android Auto. This operating interface allows users to control the smart capabilities of their Android phones and tablets through the dash display in their cars. Android Auto has already improved driver safety by making it easier to field calls, control music, and monitor GPS with a touch or a glance. Still, safety can always be improved, and the less time drivers spend looking at a screen, the more time they'll hopefully be able to spend keeping their eyes on the road.
Text summary and response generation
It seems that two major features are being implemented at launch that are intended to use Gemini to make driving safer. The first is a new text summary feature. Gemini will 'read' longer texts sent to you and provide you with a short summary that can be read more easily while driving. "Using the power of AI, Android Auto will automatically summarize long texts or busy group chats while you're driving, so you can keep in touch while staying focused on the road," the press release states. In theory, this should make it easier for drivers to communicate on the road since they can communicate without having to read long texts.
The other new feature is generative reply text. Gemini will automatically suggest appropriate replies that drivers can select to send without having to type or dictate anything. It has a few navigation features built-in as well. The AI will make suggestions based on the context of texts you have received and provide suggested actions. You can press a button to navigate to a location mentioned in a text or send a text featuring your estimated time of arrival.
Android closed the press conference by expressing its excitement over these new capabilities and promised that there will be "lots more to come." Some fans seem excited about these new features, while others would prefer that Android focus on fixing the connection drop issues present in the current version of Android Auto.