Technologies

Use AI to Find Your Next Rental Car With Turo’s ChatGPT App

Turo’s ChatGPT app is the latest example of AI’s rapid advance into every aspect of the automotive industry.

ChatGPT can now help you find and book a rental car thanks to a new Turo integration that launched Monday. The Turo app for ChatGPT allows you to just tell the AI chatbot what you’re looking for — from pickup location and dates to number of seats, EV preference and more — using natural language, and be presented with real Turo rental cars, advice and links directly to the Turo website to book.

Turo is a peer-to-peer marketplace that lets private owners rent out their personal vehicles to travelers and locals. I like to think of it as the «Airbnb of cars» or drive-it-yourself Uber. Unlike traditional rental agencies that own and maintain large fleets of cars, Turo merely provides the tech, insurance and support to connect vehicle hosts with guest drivers. Turo has proven to be a popular alternative to the airport rental counter thanks to its more varied selection of unique car models (including luxury or high-tech vehicles), competitive pricing, and the convenience of having certain vehicles delivered.

And now, it has a ChatGPT integration. You can access the new Turo app within ChatGPT by first searching for and then adding Turo to the list of available agents in ChatGPT’s Apps menu. Once connected, adding «@Turo» to any chat with the AI bot will trigger the new functionality.

I fired up ChatGPT after setting it up for myself and typed the prompt: «@Turo, I’m going to be landing in Atlanta on Friday and would like to rent an EV for the weekend with enough range to make it to Augusta. What’s available?»

The app replied with listings of vehicles currently available to rent near the airport with enough range to make the approximately 300-mile round trip with as little as one quick top-up. Each listing featured photos, price estimates (including tax and fees), star ratings and the number of times each car had been rented.

Clicking on a listing took me straight to the Turo website (or app on mobile) to complete the booking. I also tried asking for «an EV near my home that seats six people» and «a hybrid that would be useful for moving,» and found the results to be adequate.

In addition to the listings, ChatGPT and Turo provided details (like range) about each car as well as pros and cons, such as Tesla’s plentiful Superchargers between Atlanta and Augusta or the Kia EV6’s very fast charging speed. Overall, the new functionality looks like a fairly convenient and decent starting point for someone who knows nothing about cars to choose a rental.

Turo’s app for ChatGPT is the latest example of AI’s rapid advance into every aspect of the automotive industry, from natural language AI assistants in the dashboard to AI-powered inspection of rental car returns.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI last year, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Technologies

Elon Musk Unwraps $25 Billion Terafab Chip-Building Project

The project aims to build billions of chips and help make humankind a «galactic civilization,» Musk says.

Elon Musk took the stage over the weekend to announce a new partnership between Tesla, SpaceX and xAI to build a $25 billion chip-making factory in Austin, Texas, called Terafab.

Acknowledging Samsung, TSMC and other chipmakers, Musk said the Terafab project needs to get off the ground because existing semiconductor partners aren’t making chips fast enough. If built, Terafab would be the largest semiconductor manufacturing plant in the world.

Bringing more semiconductor facilities to the US isn’t new. The CHIPS Act of 2022 saw a dramatic rise in announcements for further investments in such facilities on American soil. Nvidia began manufacturing chips in its Arizona factory last year, and the motivation wasn’t only due to tariffs.

The CHIPS Act has paid out for several chip-making projects, including Intel’s massive $8 billion factory, though the introduction of additional semiconductor fabs in the US has been slow. Terafab would be a significant addition to the infrastructure for onshore chip making in the US, and by far the most expensive. There’s no word yet on whether Terafab would receive funding under the CHIPS Act.

Powering all of your electronic devices are chips that serve as their brains. They vary from the likes of Apple’s M series to Nvidia’s Vera Rubin CPU and beyond. The Terafab project aims to ease the current shortage of chips powering devices that will bring AI robotics and more to life. (The AI boom has also brought about a massive RAM shortage, with no expected relief until 2028, affecting prices on electronics like smartphones and laptops.)

Musk gave details on two of the chips he plans to build, the AI5 and AI6, which would power the likes of existing earthly ventures, such as Tesla’s Optimus robots and self-driving cars. Also detailed was the D3 chip, which he said would be made for orbital satellites in space. This type of ambition isn’t just coming from Musk, either. Nvidia announced similar goals to build orbital AI data centers during its GTC conference last week.

The project aims to have every piece of the manufacturing process take place at the facility to churn out chips by the billions, targeting the 2-nanometer process. Musk believes the project will help propel us into becoming a «galactic civilization.»

It sounds like an ambitious project, though not everyone is buying it. Musk has historically announced wild projects, like the «million-mile» battery that never quite got off the ground. Whether the Terafab facility actually becomes a reality is a waiting game for now.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, March 24

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 24.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It helps to know a little about birds. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Apple computers
Answer: MACS

5A clue: Colorful parrot with a long tail
Answer: MACAW

6A clue: Enticing scent
Answer: AROMA

7A clue: __ song (dangerous lure)
Answer: SIREN

8A clue: «Barbie» character whose job is «beach»
Answer: KEN

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Singing sister in the Osmond family
Answer: MARIE

2D clue: Future oak tree, perhaps
Answer: ACORN

3D clue: Attended
Answer: CAME

4D clue: ___ song (farewell performance)
Answer: SWAN

5D clue: Conceal
Answer: MASK

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 24, #547

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 24 No. 547.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a mixed bag. I enjoyed the blue group, which matches up people with the same first name. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Strike!

Green group hint: Fire it in there!

Blue group hint: Like Springsteen.

Purple group hint: Great force.