Hyundai is Putting AI in its Cars Soon

When you think of advanced vehicle tech, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Lexus LX, Tesla Model X, or something like that comes to mind first. Pretty soon, a Hyundai may be one of the most advanced cars you can get, which is a little unexpected.

As soon as 2019, Hyundais could come with an onboard artificial intelligence assistant. Instead of shooting for a car driven by AI, Hyundai has a more realistic goal. Teaming up with SoundHound Inc., the automaker wants to give you the ability to control most vehicle functions by simply talking.

We should see this tech shortly at CES 2018. While it’s not some crazy-advanced setup, it is actually unique and sounds pretty attainable. It would fundamentally transform how we use cars, which is a huge deal. Already, people are saying this could make Hyundai the “smartest” automaker in the industry, which of course is ruffling feathers.

I’m all for something that gets eyes and hands off a distracting touchscreen. You can simply ask the AI what the weather is or if the Nets lost again, with answers fired back through a soothing computer voice. Or, ask it to lock the doors, crank up the AC, or open you garage door as you’re pulling up. All you have to start with is “Hi Hyundai” like the Amazon smart home devices.

Likely, this will be something we’ll get on select models at first, but it could quickly become the norm.