It’s hard to believe the first Terminator movie appeared in 1984.
Now here we are 40 years later, and Artificial Intelligence is in our everyday lives. Maybe not to the extent of taking over the world, but certainly to where they are doing a lot more to serve us.
At the Consumer Electronics Show this year AI was the star; being incorporated into everything from household appliances to pet accessories to automobiles. Where we saw the highest use of AI in cars was infotainment.
AI now can do everything from finding your favorite restaurant and making reservations to telling you what the landmarks are as you drive around. What AI does, in addition to that, is drive up cost.
When navigation systems first appeared in vehicles about the same time as the Terminator, the cost for those systems was in the thousands. If you wanted the latest technology, you had to pay for it.
As the systems got better, the costs came down, and for those of us who now use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, there is no additional cost at all.
We plug in and that’s it. We are happy, but the manufacturers are losing money.
Now auto manufacturers are integrating AI platforms into their vehicles using Google or other systems that can do a lot more, but also cost more, while making smartphone usability obsolete.
What this means is everything soon will be subscription-based. Your car will come with a lot of features, but if you want them, you’re going to have to pay for them.
Manufacturers will be able to turn features on and off, depending on how much you want to pay each month to use them. While we may hate that, Generation Z grew up with it and probably won’t bat an eye about having to fork over the cash to use it.
Heated seats, GPS, and other features will cost a premium on top of what you pay for the actual vehicle. So, while the future may seem exciting, it’s also going to be quite expensive.
