Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
So I use Grok a lot while I drive. Granted, I have a Tesla with FSD and I usually only use Grok while the car is driving itself. Discussing topics I don't understand, asking its feedback on things, trying to find solutions to problems, helping me do math, or just asking a random question. It has been really cool.

People talk hands-free all the time - this really isn't much different. Talking with Grok is very close to talking to a human - Grok's voice AI is unparalleled imo. I've been able to have several hour long conversations with it that impressed me.

These OSs should be working to let us choose the LLM of our choice.
 
  • Like
  • Disagree
Reactions: JTMG and I7guy
That's like banning google search for your kid and saying "you should go to the library like how I did it when I was a kid" and calling that a "stretch"

that's what you're saying.
I grew up on having access to the Los Angeles Public Library system. It was a huge part of my life as a kid - going every week, getting books, reading them, then going to get more. I read all of the Hardy Boys (the old blue hardback books). I read about anything and everything that interested me. Kids today have it so easy - they can just ask an LLM what took me forever to get, and it was not unlimited to me. lol.

I treat Grok similarly to a Library now. I have learned more in the last few years with LLMs than years of reading on my own. Granted, long form reading still has its place and I do it regularly (love my iPad). But LLMs are a great tool that doesn't just end with a response - I often have a lot of back and forth in my queries to understand more. I have many threads where I've asked several hundreds of follow up questions.

As with anything with kids, one definitely wants to safeguard them and monitor them. I know Grok has a NSFW toggle.

A lot of kids today have no idea what it was like to ask a librarian (which in itself was scary as a kid) to help you find books on XYZ topic. 😀

Interesting how times change.
 
That's like banning google search for your kid and saying "you should go to the library like how I did it when I was a kid" and calling that a "stretch"

that's what you're saying.

No, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm guessing we aren't going to have a productive dialogue on this, so I will show myself out.
Forgive me for dropping in. My mistake. 🙏

Have a nice weekend.
 
No, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm guessing we aren't going to have a productive dialogue on this, so I will show myself out.
Forgive me for dropping in. My mistake. 🙏

Have a nice weekend.
I agree to a point - I would never ever give a kid unsupervised access to an LLM - or the internet for that matter and I wouldn't make those the primary source of info (books, books, books!). Back when I was a kid, books in the library were/are a lot safer than search engines / LLMs today.

Still, I don't think AI is going to go away and I believe it to be a tool that can be used well. Teaching a kid to utilize this is going to be vital (with supervision and when they get older) in the future. Nothing beats talking to Grok while driving asking (looking at my history...) questions about my Casio GW-5000U-1JF or why my "natural" peanut butter I recently bought needs to be refrigerated. 😀.

Hope you also have a great weekend!

And off topic - Warning... Casio G-Shocks are incredibly addicting.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: turbineseaplane
I ask this in all seriousness, but can someone tell me a true, real-world advantage to having a chatbot in my car with me? I watched the little Grok video in the article for a potential answer. My question still stands.

Once you try it, you'll get it. Being able to hold a conversation naturally while driving is awesome.

Instead of just listening to Space-themed podcasts, I can now engage [ChatGPT, not Grok] and ask questions to get answers that I'm interested in.

It's like having the world's knowledge at your verbal beckon.

Cooking, travel, construction, medicine, ... any topic that interests you... suddenly podcasts feel archaic and learning becomes a two-way experience.

Just don't use it for meditation while driving, please. 😎
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigMcGuire
So it's basically Grok showing Siri how Siri could be functioning is Siri could do things propperly?

My prediction... Siri will leapfrog to the front of the pack, be just as good or better, and become the default chat experience for millions of users.
 
I don’t even know where to start with this.

In what universe does me giving an example of one way I (very occasionally) use AI in the car to explain something to my kid when he asks a question I don’t know the answer to off the top of my head translate to “only use AI with my children”.

Again, people have said new technology is going to be terrible for children’s ability to learn literally since “writing” was the new technology. They’re always wrong.


I don’t think AI is any different in that regard. I want my kid to learn to use all available tools to learn and investigate do things. And AI is a fantastic tool that I use daily to make myself more productive, so I’m happy to introduce it to my kid. The same way I’ve introduced him to asking questions, looking in books, looking things up on the internet, and watching educational videos.

Haven't you heard, Ai will kill everyone, did you not watch terminator? I mean that is what a bunch of middle-aged people will tell you, that a was documentary wasn't it? I wonder if these people and I will be kind and not use other words, I wonder are they worried about pods taking over the world or criminals from krypton. I get it, they used their DeLorean to come from the future to tell us about the horrors of AI
 
Last edited:
  • Disagree
Reactions: turbineseaplane
If I had conversations with an LLM in my car, I'd go over my 5GB limit pretty quick. That's how much I (don't) use my phone's cellular data. 😆
 
I ask this in all seriousness, but can someone tell me a true, real-world advantage to having a chatbot in my car with me? I watched the little Grok video in the article for a potential answer. My question still stands.
To give you information while you drive. Pretty simple.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JoeShades
Struggle with the same question.

Maybe random vey isolated needs like if you’re running late for a meeting and need to know if multi-story parking spaces are available without taking a chance on alternatives, or wasting time pulling over to check on your phone.

Once a year at most.
There’s an infinite amount of information you might need while on a long drive or it can simply satisfy your curiosity
 
It's ironic that Tesla still does not support carplay, though at least Grok is built in.
CarPlay in a Tesla wouldn't really make sense. I have a Jeep and use CarPlay in that, and also a Tesla. If CarPlay was available in the Tesla I could seen no reason to use, I find the Tesla system superior to CarPlay and its fully integrated into the car.
Grok in the Tesla is something I use all the time, since it too is integrated into the car. Just yesterday, I asked Grok to remind me when I get the the grocery store to get my shopping bags from the trunk. Something I forget all the time. Worked perfectly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AL2TEACH
I don't have Grok in my Tesla because mine is running a little older hardware and does not support it. I have demo'd a Tesla with it and yeah not sure there is a lot I would actually use it for if it was not able to replace Siri and give directions and things. As a secondary AI assistant it seems limited and think we are still at the dawn of what AI will actually do that will change how we interact with technology. At some point it will be our own personal Jarvis like Tony Stark had in the Marvel movies. Seamlessly moving from your house to your phone or to your car or other objects, carrying over all your preferences, knowing your schedule and everything else. No more reminder apps and things like that, but an AI assistant that would be like talking to a real life assistant.
Grok in the Tesla does give directions, it's integrated with the navigation.
Just last week, I was out, and needed to get bird seed. I asked Grok, it responded with several places close by, then I asked which one would be the cheapest? Grok thought for about 2 seconds then said the Tractor Supply would most likely, then gave prices from Tractor Supply for various seeds. Asked if I wanted to go there, I said yes, and it plotted the rout and told me how long it would take to get there. Asked if I wanted anything else, and I said "Tell me joke" which it then did.
 
I ask this in all seriousness, but can someone tell me a true, real-world advantage to having a chatbot in my car with me?

I was driving a Tesla recently and found it suprisingly useful for finding chargers. I needed to stop and charge but there were no Tesla superchargers along my route, so asked it where the fastest and most convenient charging stations would be. It added the best one as a stop along my route. Very useful! Likewise, you can ask it about good places to stop and eat, or the weather at your destination, etc, all without taking your eyes off the road.

Besides that, Grok is actually quite poorly integrated into the vehicle's functionality currently. It's can work with the car's navigation features but nothing else. So currently there's two completely different voice systems: you press the button quickly to get the classic one which is limited in functionality but can access more car features, or long-press it to get Grok which is much smarter and better, but can't adjust simple functions like the climate control.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigMcGuire
I was driving a Tesla recently and found it suprisingly useful for finding chargers. I needed to stop and charge but there were no Tesla superchargers along my route, so asked it where the fastest and most convenient charging stations would be. It added the best one as a stop along my route. Very useful! Likewise, you can ask it about good places to stop and eat, etc, all without taking your eyes off the road.

Besides that, Grok is actually quite poorly integrated into the vehicle's functionality currently. It's can work with the car's navigation features but nothing else. So currently there's two completely different voice systems: you press the button quickly to get the classic one which is limited in functionality but can access more car features, or long-press it to get Grok which is much smarter and better, but can't control simple functions like the climate control.
Tesla has indicated full car integration is coming. When? Who knows. Until then it’s not a secret that grok isn’t deeply integrated into the vehicle.🚗
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.