GM’s data mining is just the beginning of the in-car advertising blitz

The Verge ^ | Oct 17, 2018, 2:22pm EDT | Andrew J. Hawkins

[BenLurkin]

The next data minefield is your car.

...

GM captured minuted details such as station selection, volume level, and ZIP codes of vehicle owners, and then used the car’s built-in Wi-Fi signal to upload the data to its servers. The goal was to determine the relationship between what drivers listen to and what they buy and then turn around and sell the data to advertisers and radio operators. And it got really specific: GM tracked a driver listening to country music who stopped at a Tim Horton’s restaurant.

GM spokesperson James Cain says that connected vehicle data can help develop more accurate ways to measure radio listenership. That could prove useful to the terrestrial radio industry, which continues to lose territory and ad dollars to digital streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. And GM sounds happy with the results.

“Our proof of concept has generated interest in the advertising and broadcast communities,” Cain says. “But we don’t have any new projects to announce at this time.”

he experiment underscores how our cars have become rolling listening posts. They can track our phone calls, log our text messages, answer our voice commands, and, yes, even record our radio stations. And automakers, local governments, retailers, insurers, and tech companies want to leverage that data as best they can, especially as cars begin to become more automated and transform into self-driving shuttles.

According to research firm McKinsey, connected cars create up to 600GB of data per day — the equivalent of more than 100 hours of HD video every 60 minutes — and self-driving cars are expected to generate more than 150 times that amount. The value of this data is expected to reach more than $1.5 trillion by the year 2030, McKinsey says.

[BipolarBob]

You’re screwed. What your computer don’t tell them , your cell phone does. What your cell phone don’t tell them your car does. What your car don’t tell them the red light cameras tell them. What the red light cameras don’t tell them ,the drones flying overhead tell them. You are under surveillance every day, every minute.

[Paladin2]

“Amazon Auto” would have to be <$50/mo
and have GPS.

[fso301]

Is it possible to buy a pickup truck with vinyl seats, vinyl mats and is not in constant communication with a mothership?

[fluorescence]

Of course not, but it can turn the car off. Next thing you know, you’ll have to agree to their Terms of Service to drive your car, and ‘contentious’ activities, like driving to conservative lectures or posting memes on the internet, will cause your driving privileges to be revoked. “Just build your own damn car,” they’ll say.

[usconservative]

Amazon Auto won't have monthly fee's. It uses your cellphone for data/streaming and plugs into the AUX port on your car stereo, or uses Bluetooth to connect to it.

I guess the best way to describe it is that it turns your cellphone into an Amazon Echo, just for your car. Same capabilities as the Echo, same near-field microphone technology using six built-in microphones with noise cancelling to operate in a car environment and enables hands-free voice/text capabilities while driving.

I think it's awesome and I happen to use my Echo's at home for everything from creating my grocery list via voice while inventorying my kitchen to ordering dinner, movie tickets, car parts, listening to music and controlling a big part of my home via home automation.

To the naysayers who say Amazon is "spying" on me -- I say I don't care. It's not like my grocery list, car parts, dinner and entertainment choices are national secrets or anything. :-)

[Albion Wilde]

Since my smart phone upgraded, now without prompting on my part it offers me directions to my church on Sunday mornings. Apparently this is because it is tracking my patterns. Thanks, but I know how to get there. This is so creepy.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Can this WiFi type stuff in your car be turned off?

Probably not. They are working towards cars that communicate with surrounding vehicles to coordinate speed and braking in the event of an accident. Letting you turn of WiFi sort of defeats the purpose.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I’ll keep my old dumb cars that don’t snitch on me.

'96 Buick is in the garage for a reason

[Buckeye McFrog]

Everybody should have Rush and Hannity on in the car all day and stop at every pot dispensary you can find.

The algorithms will probably cause their servers to explode.

[mewzilla]

Better solution: buy a stripper trim that’s not equipped with it.

[Mr Rogers]