I don’t like AI, and I’m not shy about hiding that. I dislike the massive industry that’s grown around AI, and the empty hype that’s come along with it.
But even with that in mind, I am learning to enjoy using AI in areas where it can help.
Gemini on Android Auto has received a mixed reception on its arrival, with bugs marring many’s first impression of the new AI tool. So I was rightly apprehensive when it came to getting Gemini in my car.
Thankfully, so far it’s been well-behaved, and I’ve come to realize that Gemini actually has some pretty great uses when embedded into Android Auto.
Related
I finally fixed my Android Auto setup, and road trips got less stressful
Now I barely touch the screen while driving
Gemini is a solid DJ
Google Assistant can play music, but Gemini can choose it. That’s a big difference, and it gives Gemini the ability to act more as a DJ than a remote control.
What does this mean? Well, you could ask Assistant to play a specific playlist, song, album, or an artist radio, but it wasn’t really able to create something new. Gemini, however, can.
Because of Gemini’s more conversational tone, you can ask it to create a song playlist based on a certain musical genre, artist, or blend of artists and genres.
If you’re quick enough with your words, you can even fine-tune some elements, like excluding certain artists from the mix.
This ability has stopped me from having to pull over time and time again, and being able to ask Gemini to create a new playlist with songs new and old is an excellent way to use Google’s AI.
Learn about your destination
This one’s not much of a secret, as it’s been all over Google’s advertising of Gemini in your car, but it’s still worth pointing out because it’s very good.
I’ve driven to several places I’ve never been to before, and on the way, curiosity has struck me.
What are the must-eat foods in this city I’m heading to? What’s the history behind the name of this hamlet I’ve just driven through?
Or, I’m on my way to a job interview, and would like to know more about the company I want to join.
Gemini is a great way to get those answers. It has access to any publicly available knowledge about any subject, and that includes company history, famous people, and places.
Gemini’s conversational nature also means you can ask follow-up questions, and it’ll usually invite you to do so at the end of each answer.
You can chat with it about anything
Gemini is the chatty sort, and it’ll happily yak on about absolutely anything you’re interested in.
This one really is a lifesaver on long drives. I’ve had multiple long drives now where I’ve run out of podcasts and become bored with my current audiobook.
Oddly for me, all I wanted was somebody to talk to, and nobody was available to call at the time. So, I turned to Gemini for a chat. And it was surprisingly good.
This one comes with a big warning label: Spending a lot of time chatting with AI chatbots is the way that madness lies. Literally.
AI psychosis sounds like a sci-fi concept, but it’s very real, and it comes down to the fact that chatbots are built to boost your mood and generally make you feel like the smartest person in the room.
So it’s best not to get too deep, and don’t let it convince you that you’ve discovered a new branch of philosophy or mathematics.
But as long as you keep the subject matter light, Gemini can be quite a fun conversationalist.
You can use it to bounce new ideas around and see whether they’re worth pursuing, or talk to it about your latest obsession, be it books, video games, movies, or whatever.
Gemini will talk to you about anything, and its conversational tone can almost fool you into thinking you’re talking to a real person.
Have it quiz you or tell you a story
This is just a fun one. Google Assistant could play certain games with you, and so can Gemini.
On a long and boring drive, I found that asking Gemini to create a short quiz was a fun way to keep my brain entertained over long miles of doing nothing.
It can make a quiz for just about any subject and alter the difficulty to suit your knowledge. Again, this is a rather fun way to increase your knowledge of a subject.
If quizzes aren’t your bag, you’re not out of options. You can have Gemini tell you a fun little story instead.
Gemini still gets a lot wrong, so keep that in mind
Credit:
My AI skepticism hasn’t gone away, and it compels me to remind you that AI chatbots can and will make mistakes.
The way chatbots are trained means hallucinations are built into them, so those little errors aren’t going to go away.
There’s a reason I haven’t highlighted anything too important or specialized here, and it’s because you shouldn’t rely on AI to deliver you 100% reliable facts all the time.
Relying on AI to get you facts about, say, the company you’re interviewing with could mean you end up mentioning a hallucinated “fact,” and that won’t likely go down well.
Instead, make sure you check up on anything AI says that you’re going to rely on.
Plus, if you really are attending an interview, mentioning that you caught a chatbot’s error would make a great example of how you’re able to use AI, but also temper its errors in your work process.
That’s something that companies are looking for, and it’ll reflect well on you.
Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police
That’s my big takeaway from my time using Gemini in Android Auto.
AI is often seen as the tool of the future, but as it is right now, it’s more of a toy. And frankly, it’s better used that way.
Hallucinations mean it can be iffy where facts are concerned — but for chatting about hobbies, books, and movies? Well, I’m often not the best source for facts, so I can at least sympathize on that front.
But that does mean Gemini is best used as a weird friend that’ll chat to you about any old thing, whether that’s the latest Warhammer rumors or celebrity gossip.
And you know what? That’s fine to have in my car on long car trips.