At the end of 2022, the news cycle was focused on an artificial intelligence (AI) program that students were using in college classes.
Given minimal information, the program - called ChatGPT - could replicate a student-authored research paper, complete with references that bypassed any known university-owned software that checks for copied material.
A few weeks later, lawyers were trying to ban the use of this program to formulate arguments in court cases. Because ChatGPT was so good at this, it poses a threat to the human lawyers’ future earnings potential.
What makes this AI program different than others is that it truly learns. It doesn’t just use a sophisticated Excel spreadsheet or table, run an algorithm and spit out a likely answer. It engages and feeds off data.
It thinks and responds like a human would — at the speed of a massive supercomputer.
What does this have to do with the tire industry?
First, let’s look at the history of technological advances in the automotive space. In 1886, the first car was invented. In 1908, Henry Ford industrialized the process of manufacturing automobiles, making car ownership far cheaper while producing enough so the majority of people could own one.
Three years after that came electric ignition. From there and over the next 60 years, we saw coil springs, radios, power steering, air conditioning, cruise control and anti-lock brakes — astronomical technological growth given the time period.
Over just the next nearly 30 years, we saw the advent of digital displays, connected cars, airbags and hybrid vehicles, and in just 20 more years, cameras, automatic parking, advance driver assistance systems and more appeared.
But you know what hasn’t really changed a whole lot? How to get your car serviced. You call and make an appointment or you just show up at a shop. A person asks, “What can I do for you today?” The service advisor and customer exchange information and reach an agreement.
In the case of diagnostics of any kind — including noise or an engine light — a technician has to review the information collected and return a probable answer.
This process is about to get a wake-up call. And based on the fact that computers’ abilities double every one-and-a-half years, ChatGPT could be interacting with your customers and diagnosing vehicles in a very different way.
Imagine a computer program that can read and understand a customer’s request, access the internet and scan every known mention of a similar problem and then price and prioritize the most likely solutions.
Or imagine a program that connects via Bluetooth or the internet and communicates with the vehicle directly. This will be a game-changer.
And the ability for this AI program to improve won’t be measured in years. It will be measured in months. That’s nearly vertical improvement.
The big question is, “When will it start?” That I can’t answer. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I do know what I’m looking at right now.
Should you be worried? Science fiction movies aside, this could mark a revolution for our industry.
As an industry, we are woefully understaffed and the talent pipeline is bone dry. And as humans, we also make mistakes.
I would guess that ChatGPT or a similar program will be introduced in some capacity to replace humans somewhere along the automotive service cycle within the next 10 years.
I also don’t want to over-reach here, either. Many times, new technology is introduced — only to fall short of expectations. (Remember when computers were going to eliminate paperwork in shops and offices?)
Undoubtedly, there will be resistance. Many operators in this industry are still behind in implementing digital vehicle inspections, something which is long overdue as a standard.
Amazon’s “hive” technology of delivering packages is still a long way out. There will be a period of adjustment and figuring out how best to incorporate true AI into the service writing and diagnostic process.
But there’s a huge upside in getting this process started. Don’t sleep on how fast this tech will take hold.
