ChatGPT as a sim racing driver coach?

BMW in iRacing.jpg
The term "Artificial Intelligence" is not new, especially for a simracer. We often practice or just have fun by "racing against the AI".

Outside our hobby you have surely read (about) books or seen movies where AI plays a role, sometimes even as the protagonist or antagonist of the story itself. HAL, C3PO, The MCP, Replicants, Terminators, Data, Chappy, Cortana, Jarvis... you get the idea. Man-made constructs that behave and speak like people. But AI is not science fiction anymore, it has not been for a while actually. However, it has just recently entered a new phase where chatbots (a digital entity that can simulate textual conversations) use complex language models, large databases of information and reinforcement (machine) learning techniques to recreate responses on queries that simulate those of (well informed) human beings. In simple words: they respond to questions the way a person would.

ChatGPT​

ChatGPT is one of those chatbots that, after being released for free by OpenAI at the end of 2022, has been the talk of the internet. Particularly because ChatGPT can create large sets of text that is so correct, coherent and nuanced that can pass for words put together by a real person. News and especially universities have been taking notice, trying to react and anticipate what this technology means for different areas of work and education. ChatGPT is very interesting for research and people have used it to do their (home)work, writing things from a simple article to a graduation thesis. Schools across the world are currently trying to understand how to deal best with this technology as the impact it has can be tremendous for human learning.

Positive or Negative

But the power of any technology is as positive (or negative) as the intentions and capabilities of the user. And one very interesting case can be seen in the video below, where an attempt is made to use ChatGPT as a driving coach for iRacing. This experiment is very interesting as it showcases how this technology works and can be implemented to teach a real person the basics of a specific discipline... such as sim racing. Enjoy!

About author
Dzul
Raul Martinez. Father of one, design teacher of many. Skeptical technophile, whisky philosopher and Simracer since the times of Pitstop II.

Comments

I think driver61 have their own AI based trainer called trophi.ai. I signed up a long time ago, but haven’t heard anything from them since. Seems like it isn’t a ready product yet
 
"Particularly because ChatGPT can create large sets of text that is so correct, coherent and nuanced that can pass for words put together by a real person."

The issue is that it isn't always correct, but always writes as though it is. It gets lost on complex topics and thus the confidence it writes with can be very misleading.
 
Unless the software feeds the telemetry data to the AI and the AI has been trained with the many "fastest laps" for every car/track combo it's not going to work well...
 
Last edited:
"Particularly because ChatGPT can create large sets of text that is so correct, coherent and nuanced that can pass for words put together by a real person."

The issue is that it isn't always correct, but always writes as though it is. It gets lost on complex topics and thus the confidence it writes with can be very misleading.
In other words, it writes just like the average sim racer on RD. ;)
 
After listening to the video, I am not sure to see how this is specific to IRacing, seems to me those advise from AI are equally relevant when driving any other sim.
Is it just that, at this point, access to this software is only available trough IRacing?
 
After listening to the video, I am not sure to see how this is specific to IRacing, seems to me those advise from AI are equally relevant when driving any other sim.
Is it just that, at this point, access to this software is only available trough IRacing?
ChatGPT is 100% free to use and has nothing to do with iRacing. It can be usefull for a lot of things since it has an enormous amount of knowledge from multiple sources. This doesn't mean it'll always be correct, but it's really a sort of milestone for AI research.
 
Alfred Wayne
Premium
"The best setup for a Dodge Viper GT1 at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) would likely include a balanced aerodynamic package for high-speed stability, a stiff suspension for optimal handling, and a high-performance tire compound for maximum grip. Additionally, it would be important to ensure that the engine and transmission are properly tuned for the specific demands of the track. It's best to consult with a professional race team or experienced race car engineer for a personalized setup tailored to the specific characteristics of your car and the track."


Guess I'm winning my race this Sunday :roflmao: Interesting application for this
 
Last edited:
It is very cool that it was able to do what it did based on one sentence questions. As was said have the telemetry data be the questions seems like it wouldn't be as far of a step as it once seemed. Hope iRacing and others have their contact info.
 

Article information

Author
Dzul
Article read time
2 min read
Views
16,287
Comments
46
Last update

Share this article

How much money have you spend on your current simracing hardware

  • €0-150

    Votes: 77 18.7%
  • €151-500

    Votes: 115 28.0%
  • €501-1000

    Votes: 67 16.3%
  • €1001-1500

    Votes: 36 8.8%
  • €1501-3000

    Votes: 40 9.7%
  • €3001-5000

    Votes: 21 5.1%
  • €5001-10000

    Votes: 26 6.3%
  • I stopped counting a long time ago

    Votes: 29 7.1%
Top