AI engineers used a text model to drive a Toyota Corolla for lunch
Three AI engineers at startup Axiom used OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra to operate a 2024 Toyota Corolla and pick up food from an In-N-Out Burger near the Bay Area.
Engineers linked chat interface to car systems
The team connected a laptop running the AI model to windscreen cameras and the vehicle's power steering system. A safety driver kept one foot on the brake pedal while the software controlled the drive-thru lane.
Model navigated without prior training or coaching
The engineers did not train the model specifically for driving before this experiment. The text-generation system successfully guided the car to the take-out window to collect their order.
Experiment suggests language models understand physical world
This stunt indicates that general-purpose AI is gaining a rudimentary understanding of physical environments. Researchers noted that such operations happen on the fly without previous instruction for the specific task.
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