What CIOs Need To Know About Self-Driving Cars And AI

AI is the future of IT technology and cars will have it first
AI is the future of IT technology and cars will have it first
Image Credit: Nikke Lindqvist

As the person with the CIO job we are responsible for staying on top of all of the cool new technologies that are rapidly developing because of the importance of information technology. Although our firm may not use all of these technologies, they will be influenced by them and so we have become aware of what the new technologies can be used to accomplish. Two of the hottest new technologies that are currently being developed are artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driving cars. These technologies are linked together and how they evolve will have a big impact on the IT field going forward.

The Importance Of AI In Self-Driving Cars

Every company has its own unique DNA. The person in the CIO position has to be aware of this. In the past, during the so-called desktop age, all that a CIO had to do was to provide the company with the best technology so that its workers could accomplish their tasks. Then things changed. The world shifted to a mobile world. CIOs were called upon to help workers start to create their own mobile ecosystems. People started to create their own content. Everything had to be both supported and made available at the same time.

So what is it going to take for a CIO to master the new world of AI? Companies are going to have to go out and get the best technology to perform natural-language processing. They will require the best voice-recognition technology. Finally, they are also going to need to get their hands on the best image processing technology. Once they have all of these tools, they’ll have to get down to work and analyze a great deal of data. What AI has been created to do is to understand what humans are trying to do and then provide either answers or requested services.

In the world of self-driving cars, CIOs need to understand that there are many different things to look at. There are, of course, the cars themselves. The initial cars will require assistance from their human drivers to safely get to where they are going. These are considered to be level-three cars. The next step is to create level-four cars and these cars can drive themselves with no assistance from their drivers. Not only will the cars need to contain the software and hardware that will allow them to drive themselves, but they will also need technology to entertain the people in the car.

Where We Go From Here

The goal for self-driving cars is for them to provide the rider with a screen, access to the songs on their phone, a microphone, etc. Everything that the driver can do with their phone will be able to be done through the car and while they are in the car they will never need to touch their phone. The goal is to make the driver’s time in their car provide them with a better experience than they can get from using their phone.

In the world of the AI technology that is being developed for self-driving cars, CIOs need to be aware that there are two paths that are being taken. Google’s self-driving car is using software that is closed source – they are not sharing it with anyone. Other companies that are building self-driving cars are using the Apollo software which is open source. Many different vehicle manufactures are participating in the Apollo program

CIOs will need to make a decision when it comes time to add AI technology to the way that their company does business. They can choose to go the closed source or the open source route. If they go the open source route, then this will have provided an opportunity for many different people to contribute to the project. Some of those contributions may have been data that can be used to further refine how the software operates.

What All Of This Means For You

CIOs have the job of staying on top of new technologies as they develop. Currently there are two new technologies, artificial intelligence and self-driving cars that are poised to have a big impact on the world of IT. Although CIOs may not be working for a company that makes either of these products, they will eventually be impacted by them. This means that CIOs need to understand what is going on and how it can be used by their companies.

The world is changing. We have evolved from the desktop environment that just required a CIO to keep things running to a mobile world where users can build their own content. CIOs are going to have to acquire many new technologies including tools to perform natural language processing, voice-recognition technology, and image processing technology. AI is a powerful technology that will be initially installed in self-driving cars and then will be improved over time. CIOs need to understand that there will be two types of AI software: closed source and open source. Open source software will have the opportunity to have more people make contributions to it.

CIOs have the responsibility to be aware of all of the changes that are happening in the world of IT. Right now AI and self-driving vehicles are in the process of reshaping what is possible in IT. CIOs have a responsibility to keep track of the developments in these areas so that we can understand how they are going to end up affecting our companies. The future is going to be very different than today is and CIOs have to be able to see it coming.

– Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World IT Department Leadership Skills™

Question For You: Do you think that the AI technology that will be developed for cars can be used in other industries?

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What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

Every person with the CIO job wants to have an IT department that is quick and nimble. We want our staff to be able to anticipate what is coming and make sure that the company is ready when it arrives. CIOs also realize that in order to be able to do this, they need to make sure that their IT department is diverse. However, even though much has been said about the importance of having a diverse and inclusive IT workforce, when it comes to promoting ethnically and racially diverse people to senior leadership positions, CIOs continue to struggle.