A Bengaluru student made waves on Monday after using AI to bargain in fluent Kannada and secure an auto ride. A video of the interaction has since gone viral on social media with many hailing his ‘innovative’ use of artificial intelligence in a real-world situation.
The non-Kannada speaking student can be heard telling ChatGPT to interact with the driver “like he’s my brother” before taking a backseat in the discussions. ChatGPT then proceeded to explain that this was a student “who travelled through this route every day” and asked for the fare to be lowered. The driver initially agreed proposed a fare of Rs 150 before settling on Rs 120 during talks with the AI voice assistant.
“I had said 200 and came down to 150. Since you requested it, I reduced another Rs 30 and settled at Rs 120. It’s not possible for me to go lower,” the auto driver can be telling ChatGPT as his would-be passenger looks on.
The video has since garnered thousands of likes and views with many praising the innovative use of AI.
“Hahaha… Just Bengaluru things. If not there, where else would we expect this,” laughed one user.
“Insane use of AI,” said a second.
Others remained skeptical about the authenticity of the video — noting that it ‘looked scripted’ in several ways.
“Looks scripted. Auto drivers are expected to wear Khaki shirts and that definitely doesn’t look like an auto driver. Also do people go around with a filming crew to do such spontaneous interaction?” asked one user.
“Even if this turns out to be staged, the capability demonstration is mind blowing,” exulted another.