One area where AI has promised a revolution is in voice assistants. Early versions of Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa were fairly robotic and required careful requests to get the response you want. Next-generation versions are now in the works, with Alexa+ in Beta across the US and others making significant strides in natural language. But they could still be better.
Sitting in Qualcomm’s cockpit platform at the IAA Mobility show in Munich, I’m witnessing an AI that not only sounds like a real human being, but it’s laughing and responding with ease to multiple questions at once, in probably the closest I’ve seen to a genuine conversation. This is RAiDiO.FYI, an interactive AI-powered radio station brought to you by the nine-time Grammy Award-winning artist and tech entrepreneur, will.i.am.
I first experienced RAiDiO.FYI at CES 2025, as it features on the new LG xboom by will.i.am range of speakers. You can also access it via the FYI app and in Mercedes-Benz cars. It allows you to pick your host from a range of personas, which isn’t just about a slightly different accent, it completely changes the way it speaks. You can then pick from a range of stations, covering news, culture, tech, music, sports, fashion, politics and more.
(Image credit: FYI)
Talk radio
Rather than just listening to these stations, you can have full interactive conversations with your chosen persona around these topics. Just interrupt the host at any time by pressing the mic button and ask them questions. You don’t have to limit your questions to one at a time, either.
Sat in the drivers seat, will.i.am demonstrates for me by firing off an avalanche of questions to the RAiDiO host about Tyler, the Creator – 13 different questions in one go. After a brief pause, the AI worked through all the answers, injecting a little extra style in the answers that made it feel just like the rest of the show.
Earlier this year, Qualcomm announced that it was working with will.i.am to optimise the the FYI.AI platform for use with its Snapdragon and Qualcomm-powered devices. This includes phones, laptops and cars and will see the benefits of its on-device AI.
“So this is already in Mercedes,” says will.i.am. “With our partnership with Qualcomm, we’ll go out together and get more OEMs to adopt it in their cabin as a suggested radio simulator for deeper engagement on entertainment.”
It’s no doubt that the natural language conversation abilities of RAiDiO.FYI are far beyond your regular AI voice assistants but that level of interaction requires a huge amount of processing to pull it off. I’m sure in time even the short delay between asking the questions and getting the responses will reduce to next to nothing, but even now this product serves as an example of just what is possible with AI voice technology.
(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz)
Driving sounds
Two years ago, will.i.am also collaborated with Mercedes-Benz on its MBUX Sound Drive project. This allows you to create music as you drive, just by driving – the acceleration, braking, steering and even indicators all changing the sound of the music.
“This system has been put onto the Snapdragon chip as well, says will.i.am. [Since the launch] “we’ve grown the catalogue, and at CES 2026, we’ll have some new features to show.”
Today, the application is available for all Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Benz AMG Line vehicles running the second-generation MBUX infotainment system. I took the passenger seat as Will took me for a drive in a Mercedes C63 AMG fitted with Sound Drive, and it was just as impressive as I remembered. The application now has a wider range of songs to choose from, though, including well-known tracks from Justin Timberlake and the Black Eyed Peas.
(Image credit: Future)
Next up
The tech entreprenuer is not finished there and is currently working on more projects. After our interview will.i.am hinted that we will see more from him at CES 2026. What form that will take, at this stage, is anyone’s guess, but it certainly wont be dull.
