cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19576214
Imagine your car playing you an ad based on your destination, vehicle information—and listening to your conversations.
Ford has patented a system that, per the filing, would use several different sources of information to customize ad content to play in your car. One such information stream that this hypothetical system would use to determine what sort of ads to serve could be could be the voice commands you’ve given to the car. It could also identify your voice and recognize you and your ad preferences, and those of your passengers. Finally, it could listen to your conversations and determine if it’s better to serve you a visual ad while you’re talking, or an audio ad when there’s a lull in the conversation.
If the system described in the patent knew that you were headed to the mall on the freeway based on destination information from the nav system and vehicle speed, it could consider how many ads to serve in the time you’ll be in the car, and whether to serve them on a screen or based through the audio system. If you respond more positively to audio ads, it might serve you more of those—how does every five minutes sound?
But what if the weather’s bad, traffic is heavy, and you’re chatting away with your passenger? Ford describes the system using the external sensors to perceive traffic levels and weather, and the internal microphone to understand conversational cadence, to “regulate the number (and relevance) of ads shown” to the occupants. Using the GPS, if it knows you’ve parked near a store, it might serve you ads relevant to that retail location. Got passengers? Maybe you get an audio ad, and they get a visual one.
Given how consumers feel about advertising and in-car privacy, it is difficult to imagine an implementation of this system that wouldn’t generate blowback. But again, the patent isn’t describing some imminent implementation; it just protects Ford’s IP that describes a possible system. That said, with the encroachment of subscription-based features, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before you’re accepting a $20/month discount to let your new Ford play you ads on your commute.
“My ad preferences” are no ads
This is some dystopian shit dude.
Ya even more reason to keep my old vehicle.
I love how the burden of ownership has shifted back to manufacturers of things, yet they still sell us stuff that we “own” when we actually don’t, and they keep squeezing more dollars from consumers by doing shit like this.
As long as the head gasket is still good, oil seals are good, and piston rings are good, everything around them can be replaced at home with a Haynes manual, except maybe the transmission and any welding work on the exhaust.
Just did a timing belt replacement in the driveway on mine, good for another ten years now.
In your vehicle perhaps this is true. In what I would wager is most vehicles there’s some modules that can die that will 100% make your car inoperable and if they do die you better have an o-scope and a diagram on the bench at home along with some very specific skills. Most people aren’t gonna be able to bring a module back, and even if they can they’ll still more than likely have to pay a shop to program it. Or clone it I guess.
This is fantastic! Now I know exactly which manufacturer to avoid at all costs, AND they’ve made it harder for their competition to use this shitty system. Dear Ford, please keep patenting bad ideas.
Patent not mean intent, but idea is there.
For one, there’s a recognition that an occupant’s “natural inclination to seek minimal or no ads” should be balanced with “maximum opportunity for ad-based monetization.” The patent, basically, says that it will use a few different algorithms to bypass occupants’ preference for zero ads by playing ads at certain times, attempting to minimize disruption by understanding the context.
If i bypass a girl preference for zero physical contact with me, it called rape.
Sorry for the YT Short, but of course the simpsons predicted this: https://youtube.com/shorts/rYb8geoO484
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rYb8geoO484
Why is this abomination, which is the bastard amalgamation of pre-existing tech patentable? Oh right patents. Never mind.
Step 1: License the technology for very cheap or free to competitors.
Step 2: Include features but its free because ads. Pay small monthly fee for ad-free.
Step 3: Revise CANNBus or replace it with new system. Make it a ‘standard’ so that aftermarket units can provide features but will also serve ads from the original car manufacturer and its DRM. Anyone reverse engineering the system gets sued into the ground for DMCA/Copyright laws because now they are bypassing DRM.
Step 4: Everyone gets ads regardless. Also, you must pay subscription fee to basically use the car. Ads are to “keep costs down” for features and/or car purchasing price.
Step 5: After everyone is mad, give slightly higher cost for subscription for ad-free.
People that complain are told 'It’s just one coffee a month. No big deal."
Step 6: Offer a 5-year (non-transferrable or refundable) plan that you can just roll into the price of the car loan and ‘locks in the price’ and 'You don’t have to worry about it anymore." Maybe toss in lame very small discounts for certain branded charging stations while on the plan. People already sign up for credit cards, give away their personal info. and become loyal customers to gas stations to save single digit percentages off on fuel.
People that buy new every 5 years usually buy the package.
People that try to save money and buy used cars pay the subscriptions.
Step 7: Double monthly price for ad-free tier and market it to “we had to raise prices for those that want a premium experience but kept the ad-based subscription fee cheap. We had to pass the cost somewhere.” This will increase the demand for those 5-year plans.
Overall new car purchase demand increases a bit because of those plans.
Over the course of 15 or 20 years there will be an entire generation of drivers used to ads always being in cars and will just accept subscriptions and ads are just the way it’s always been that way and that it must be that way.
For the EU, it’ll probably be different where the car can perform basic functions without ads but ‘premium features’ for stuff like traction control, auto lane following, etc. will probably still be behind the system I’d imagine.
but ‘premium features’ for stuff like traction control, auto lane following, etc. will probably still be behind the system I’d imagine.
I can live just fine without those.
