It’s not just Ford. Here is an article about GM. This is just the beginning of how they will monetize their product. Well it’s not a product anymore it will transition into a service as car ownership fades away.
Watch these ads for a reduced ride fee
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/17/17990052/gm-radio-listen...
I look forward to the dash lights of my car being sporadically replaced w/ ads for the very car I've already purchased.
They see a google and facebook which are young companies which are worth more than every auto company in the world combined and they are tying to copy that. Most of these auto companies are 100+ years old and all together are worth less than google and facebook. Google and Facebook make almost all their money through ads.
"Sales are down, anyone have an explanation?"
"Well, sir, it seems young people today just aren't as enamored with cars as with previous generations."
"Is there anything to be done?"
"Privacy has been in the news a lot lately. What if...I'm just spitballin' here...but what if we made our products even less appealing? Have the CEO rattle off all the shit we know about customers, and then talk about how we're going to MON-OH-TIZE the shit out of those data? I mean, nothing else is working."
"Out-STANDING, Johnson. I see a promotion in your future!"
Welp, guess I won't be purchasing the mustang I wanted. This has got to stop. Like the final paragraph states: If I pay for a vehicle in cash, I damn well don't feel like paying with my privacy and data, too.
This is the very same reason I'll never use Windows. Telemetry is an invasion of privacy. It's also why the "right to repair" is such an important issue. Owners of cars (or any device, for that matter) should be able to go into the software (including breaking encryption) and disable or remove components that report data to external sources.
If I want cheap services in exchange for data, I'll go with Lyft. Fuck yourself, Hackett.
Fords 2020 R&D Budget:
1. Battery technology - 5%
2. Lighter weight materials - 5%
3. safer cars - 5%
4. Popup ads in the windshield - 85%
What could go wrong?!
Considering that your web activity generates enough money to keep large amounts of people employed, your driving activity would to. I can see Free car journeys in exchange for your attention so that it can be sold to advertisers along with your current location. Some examples are, you are approaching Mac Donald’s, or a competing petrol station, a competing supermarket, or hardware store.
Just like any other good hackernews reader, I read the comments first and only then decide whether to read the article. As I read this post and there were no comments, I'll take the liberty of trying to provide a nice comment that might or might not induce you to read the rest of the article.
Ford CEO Jim Hackett said this in a podcast:
>“The issue in the vehicle, see, is: We already know and have data on our customers. By the way, we protect this securely; they trust us. We know what people make. How do we know that? It’s because they borrow money from us. And when you ask somebody what they make, we know where they work, you know. We know if they’re married. We know how long they’ve lived in their house because these are all on the credit applications. We’ve never ever been challenged on how we use that. And that’s the leverage we got here with the data.”
He explicitly stated "we protect this securely", a statement that I am extremely cautious about and wouldn't touch with a ten feet pole. Just this statement from the CEO has cemented my idea to never ever buy a Ford wagon.
Of course, a backlash on Twitter ensued, as some user responded:
>“I heard it yesterday, and was appalled,” tweeted another. “No concern whatsoever for privacy and no reflection on whether or not this is a GOOD thing. Talked about linking with personal medical data while in the vehicle. No thought to ethical considerations. Another Zuckerberg. Disturbing.”
Ford is failing financially and as Ford is a company, it will do anything to stay alive, self-preservation, very human, but of course a company would rather stay alive exploiting our data than to make a gracious exit:
>With sales of vehicles flagging worldwide, the company is finding itself running out of financial freeway, so to speak. And even in the U.S., its strongest market, Ford is seeing little vehicular success of late beyond sales of its trucks and SUVs). Accordingly, the automaker is wisely taking steps to be more fully integrated into people’s lives, by expanding into ancillary businesses that at first would seem to run counter to its mission.
The beginning of the post is basically fear mongering (and I'm glad I read on) as later a Spokesperson for Ford is being quoted saying the following:
>“In the podcast ... Jim Hackett was painting a picture of the future possibilities of data use given the long-term relationship and trust we have with our customers,” she said. “Specifically, it is important to know we do not sell or monetize information from customer credit applications. We take seriously our obligations related to how we use this information. With regard to all data use, we are committed to protecting customer privacy and we do that by ensuring transparency and appropriate consent in the collection and use of all customer data.”
In the end it says this
>This story was updated at 5:25 p.m. EST with comments from Ford’s spokesperson.
In other words, this article was first published without quotes from the spokesperson, maybe Ford saw the article and felt pressured?
Anyway, I think the article is mostly fear-mongering amongst our more privacy oriented people, but at the same time I will keep a closer eye on Ford.
Ford: Ford reiterated that it “will deliver on the company’s commitment of 100 percent connectivity of new vehicles in the United States by 2019"
I think an easy next step would be to display ads on the console when the vehicle is stopped. Would be fairly easy software wise and that ad model is already working with Waze.
Just click on "Skip Ad" so you can adjust the fan.
I guess they gave up on fixing their dogshit powertrains.
This article reports on what was said on a podcast and then turns speculation. What a sensational headline and bland article.
Transportation as a service is coming.
I remember thinking GDPR was yet another intrusive EU bureaucratic exercise. Now I wish it was the norm in the US.
I’m starting to think at a minimum it should be the floor of how data professionals ethically use user data.