Volkswagen is setting up a new company within the VW Group, which will focus on making the most of the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Bringing outside tech in
The new company is called the AI Lab and will "act as a globally networked competence centre and incubator." The idea is that AI research is developing so rapidly beyond the motor industry that what Volkswagen needs is a company within the Group focused on watching the AI developers, identifying which bits make the most sense for VW and its other Group companies, and then bringing that tech in-house.
Volkswagen says that it wants to: "simplify collaboration with technology companies with a view to making optimum use of the innovation potential and speed of the AI sector. The objective is to rapidly develop digital prototypes and transfer them to the Group brands for implementation."
Genuine added value
"We want to offer our customers genuine added value with artificial intelligence. We aim to link external digital ecosystems with the vehicle, creating an even better product experience," says Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group and Porsche. "Collaboration with technology companies is crucially important for us. In future, we intend to simplify cooperation in organisational and cultural terms."
One of the primary areas for which Volkswagen already has a use for AI is in voice control and voice recognition programs, which is why ChatGPT technology has been integrated into the just-updated Golf, so as to create a more versatile and - yes - intelligent voice assistant called IDA.
Other potential projects include AI-optimised charging cycles for electric vehicles, predictive maintenance and the networking of vehicles with infrastructure, such as customers' own homes.
Highly dynamic sector
AI Lab will have a great deal of freedom of movement within the Volkswagen Group to go and try new things and experiment and obviously, it won't have the distraction of actually making any of its own cars. High-ranking board members from the other Volkswagen Group brands will form a board of AI Lab, and will supervise and scrutinise what it's doing. The idea is to let AI Lab go off and do its own thing but still keep an eye on proceedings - just to make sure that a bunch of artificially intelligent Golfs don't turn on us and try to enslave humanity or anything.
"With our new 'AI Lab', we are combining technological expertise, flexibility and speed in collaboration with external partners. This will be crucial in the highly dynamic AI sector," says Michael Steiner, Head of Research and Development of the Volkswagen Group. "We will pursue highly promising initiatives in the marketplace, together with partners where this is necessary, irrespective of existing arrangements and other links in series production."