“Think of the car as having a soul and being an extension of your family,” Sri Subramanian, Nvidia's global head of generative AI for automotive, said Tuesday.Subramanian's example, shared with a CES audience on the show's opening day in Las Vegas, illustrates the growing sophistication of AI-powered in-cabin systems and the expanding scope of personal data that smart vehicles may collect, retain and use to shape the driving experience.But experts say the push toward a more personalized driving experience is intensifying questions about how much driver data is being collected.“The magic of AI should not just mean all privacy and security protections are off,” said Justin Brookman, director of marketplace policy at Consumer Reports.Popular ReadsVenezuela live updates: Trump says Venezuela turning over up to 50M barrels of oilJan 6, 7:05 PMMaduro declares 'I am innocent' and 'still president' in Manhattan court appearanceJan 5, 1:15 PMFBI releases images of seized motorcycles as search for Ryan Wedding continuesDec 30, 4:51 PM“Sometimes privacy issues are difficult for folks to internalize,” he said.“People generally feel they wish they had more privacy but also don’t necessarily know what they can do to address it.”At the same time, Brookman said, many of these technologies offer real safety benefits for drivers and can be good for the consumer.“Are they sleepy? Are they drowsy? Are they not seated properly? Are they eating, talking on phones? Are they angry? You name it, we can figure out how to detect that in the cabin,” said Brian Brackenbury, director of product line management at Gentex.Brackenbury said it's ultimately up to the car manufacturers to decide how the vehicle reacts to the data that's collected, which he said is stored in the car and deleted after the video frames, for example, have been processed."“One of the mantras we have at Gentex is we're not going to do it just because we can, just because the technology allows it,” Brackebury said, adding that “data privacy is really important.”
At CES, auto and tech companies transform cars into proactive companions
