Hyundai, Kia Make Major Commitment To Artificial Intelligence

Hyundai and Kia have made a major commitment to artificial intelligence in its cars, trucks and SUVs with the hiring of recruitment of Kyunghyun Cho, associate professor of computer science and data science at New York University. AI is the only way to make truly autonomous vehicles. Tesla could learn something.

AI is the driving factor (no pun intended) behind the recent major Tesla crashes, including one where there was literally no one behind the wheel. Strong artificial intelligence wouldn’t let that happen.

That’s the true issue with autonomous driving. It has to be flawless. This isn’t horse shoes and hand grenades. Close enough isn’t good enough, which Hyundai and Kia appear to know.

Basically, artificial intelligence will be able to instantly respond to outward and internal stimuli to avoid collisions, respond to emergency vehicles, and make the hundreds of decisions we all make while driving. This would be of huge appeal to the people who look at cars as purely transportation and nothing more.

According to Hyundai, Cho will work with researchers at AIRS Company, an organization dedicated to the development of Hyundai and Kia’s AI technologies and AI-based services. He will advise on the application of AI technology to the mobility industry, strategies to overcome the current limitations of AI technology, and the excavation of new AI-based business opportunities.

To pioneer the future of sustainable mobility, Hyundai and Kia are undergoing an ambitious transformation from automotive manufacturer to Smart Mobility Solution Provider and are engaged in various projects covering AI agents, machine translators, smart factories and mobility services.

As a renowned figure in the AI field, especially of machine learning and applied AI research, Cho is expected to elevate Hyundai and Kia’s expertise in AI technology research, helping the companies to proactively respond to the growing competition in future mobility development.

Proactive is something Tesla has not been lately. It needs to up its artificial intelligence capabilities. Flawless execution of autonomous driving is what will make self-driving vehicles possess a mass appeal. Tesla may charge its customers big prices but it’s not a leader in autonomous driving. Hyundai and Kia soon could be.

What do you think? Is artificial intelligence advanced enough for true autonomous driving?

Keith Griffin covers Hyundai and Kia at Torque News. He has been writing continuously about cars since 2002. Keith used to be a researcher/writer for US News & World Report, as well as numerous car sites, including Carfax and Car Gurus, and a contributor to The Boston Globe. Most recently, Keith was the managing editor for American Business Media. Follow Keith at @indepthauto on Twitter, on @LinkedIn and on his Indepth Auto Facebook page.