General Motors will integrate AI into its cars, plus new hands-free assist

General Motors held a preview event today to show the world what it’s working on. We’ve already seen some projects, like the further development of lithium manganese-rich battery technology or backup power for EVs that can power a home or support the power grid.

The most significant new announcement is that Cadillac will offer an Escalade IQ with a so-called “Level 3” conditional automated driving system in 2028. GM is referring to it as a “hands off, eyes off” system and says it will integrate advanced digital mapping, use of lidar and other systems, and advanced machine learning to handle the driving duties in a controlled environment up to 80 mph (129 km/h).

This means you can theoretically watch a movie from the driver’s seat while your car takes you down the highway to the airport. Over time, the system’s operation areas will expand to cover even more roads, making driving unnecessary in many situations—unless, of course, you like to drive.

“We’re taking a safety-first approach,” CEO Mary Barra said to an audience of journalists at an event in New York City. “You’ll see us roll out much, much faster than what we did with Super Cruise.”

So while the system will be limited to the Escalade at first, GM has made it clear that it wants to spread the system across its lineup. Barra even had the assembled journalists imagine a world in which your car anticipates your needs, takes you where you want to go, and services itself during downtime.

Compared to Mercedes-Benz’s current offering, the advanced level 3 Super Cruise will work at a higher speed, and the team emphasized that the goal is for the system to work in all 50 states and in all weather conditions.

Am I skeptical? Yes. But the company has a new liquid-cooled compute module to help handle the demands of a more advanced system. This would be the most advanced driver assistance system available to consumers in the US, and the company learned a lot through its now-shuttered Cruise autonomous vehicle program.

More AI

This new vehicle computer will allow GM to integrate more AI functionality into the vehicle. GM believes that incorporating Google Gemini (and eventually its own system) will help drivers better interact with a vehicle and its functions through natural language processing.