The Japanese automaker has teamed up with the Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald to create the ‘perfect’ ad, which it is billing as the first commercial scripted by artificial intelligence.

The 60-second spot is entitled Driven by Intuition and directed by Macdonald, working from a script that was developed by IBM’s Watson AI system. Macdonald’s credits include The Last King of Scotland and the Whitney Houston biopic Whitney. The storyline itself along with the script was created using AI along with technical partner Visual Voice, IBM and Lexus’s creative agency The&Partnership. The agencies collaborated with the IBM Watson team to use AI to analyze 15 years’ worth of footage, text and audio for car and luxury brand campaigns that have won Cannes Lions awards for creativity, as well as a range of other external data. More »

China started tracking the movements of all new vehicles. The government says it would help track congestion and public security, but there are some concerns that it is likely to become another surveillance tool.

The program that the Chinese government started will make it possible to track citizens’ cars using RFID chips installed on windshields which will help study and manage traffic, pollution, and public security. The program started rolling out on July 1st and will be voluntary at first but mandatory for new vehicles in 2019.

By forcing drivers to have chips installed on their vehicles, China’s Ministry of Public Security, and the ministry’s Traffic Management Research Institute will also help bolster the domestic chip industry. More »

Drivers in Dubai may soon be using digital number plates.

Dubai will begin testing smart license plates. Vehicles will be fitted with smart plates featuring digital screens, GPS, and transmitters by which messages can be displayed and cars tracked.

The plates will be able to contact the emergency services and the police in the event of a crash and allow communication with the other drivers on the road about hazards in the road or other traffic conditions. The head of Dubai’s Vehicle Licensing Department says that the devices will allow a quicker emergency response if the car is stolen. Along with its communication features, the digital plate will also allow easier access to services such as registration renewal, tolls, and parking fines. More »

Intel is planning to launch consumer smart glasses this year.
Intel has developed a prototype for a set of smart glasses that are designed to look normal but are able to provide information like a smartwatch.
Called Vaunt, but reportedly known internally as “Superlite”, the regular-looking glasses are impressively light. They have plastic frames and weigh no more than 50 grams.
The device allows you to check information while doing other activities. For instance, you can check a person’s birthday or other info while you’re chatting on the phone. Sensors can also detect whether you’re in the kitchen and give you recipes or a shopping list. More »

Four large U.S. banks and giant card-payment processors that issue debit and credit cards were hit by a data-security breach that was discovered by third-party services provider Global Payments Inc. when its systems were compromised by unauthorized access.

Global Payments Inc had found “unauthorized access” into its system early in March and notified law enforcement authorities and financial institutions, officials for the company said last Friday. More »

799px-Tesla_Model_S_Indoors_trimmedTesla is giving all its new cars hardware for full self-driving capability.

All of Tesla vehicles being produced in its factory, including the Model 3, would be equipped with the hardware that will allow Level 5 self-driving capability, announced the company in a press release only a few days ago. More »

Jeep hackers take control of steering and braking systems at speed.

Jeep_Cherokee_2.0_MulitJet_4WD_Limited_(KL)_–_Frontansicht,_30._August_2014,_DüsseldorfSecurity researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek have taken the remote hack of a car to the next level. Now they can control the accelerator, steering wheel, brakes, and even electronic parking brake while the car is driving at more dangerous high speeds.

A year ago, the same pair of hackers remotely compromised a Jeep Cherokee. In a controlled demonstration the two cybersecurity researchers were able to access More »

Artificial.intelligenceA company, called MetaMind, founded in Palo Alto, Calif. in 2014 is focusing on creating software that will be able to answer questions and reason like humans. Read more on the topic here.

800px-Nao_robot,_Jaume_UniversityNadine is a new brand of human-like robot that may one day be used as a personal assistant or care provider for the elderly people. Thanks to the new software, the robot will be able to express an array of emotions and recall a previous conversation. You can see the robot and read more on the topic here.

799px-Tesla_Model_S_Indoors_trimmedA stolen Tesla Model S 85D was tracked down using a smartphone app and  returned to owners within hours.

Katya Pinkowski, a Vancouver resident and Tesla Model S owner, went to see a concert a few days ago. When it was over, she returned to the car in an underground parking lot and found out it was missing. It is never fun to find an empty space at the place you left your car. After a car theft, it usually takes owners weeks or even years to retrieve their property. More »