Automakers Warned Cars Are Becoming Customer-Spying 'Data Monsters'

Images from a Mercedes onboard stereo camera generate 300 gigabytes of data - every hour.

The notion of the car becoming a computer have become commonplace. But that notion is inaccurate: in fact, the typical auto has the computing power of 20 personal computers.

The question that the industry, the regulatory authorities and the people who buy cars now face is what to do with all of that information. The problem is that data, when generated in sufficient quantities, becomes such a vast force that it 'creates its own weather.' By which we mean that instead of merely reporting on driving-related phenomenon, it establishes a separate and distinct industry of those attempting to figure out how to use and then monetize it.

There are certainly safety and security features that provide customer benefits: accident reporting, locating and repair service dispatch may become automatic. But it is also going to provide insurers, lenders, police and the automakers themselves with the temptation to impose generation of certain types of data that will then be used to create distinct classes of drivers who may pay more or less depending on their performance.

Yes, encouraging safe driving habits is one thing, but when energy companies, financial services enterprises and others with a commercial interest in the outcome begin to become arbiters of who should pay what, the 'public' in policy will have once again been privatized.The trend towards reduced car ownership may be exacerbated by this.

That the industry has noticed this itself and that the CEO of one of its leaders, VW, chose to address it in front of a number of world leaders suggests that the concerns are not misplaced - and that the industry must address them. JL



Chris Bryant reports in the Financial Times:

Modern vehicles have become mobile computers, with 1.5km of cables, more than 50 control units and the computing power of 20 advanced personal computers

Carmakers must prevent the connected vehicle of the future turning into a “data monster” that aids snooping on customers, the chief executive of Volkswagen has warned.  Speaking at the opening of the CeBIT IT fair in Hanover, Martin Winterkorn, Europe’s most influential auto executive, vowed to protect customers against the abuse of their data.
“I clearly say yes to Big Data, yes to greater security and convenience, but no to paternalism and Big Brother. At this point, the entire industry is called upon. We need a voluntary commitment by the automobile industry,” he said. 

Cars are set to generate increasingly vast amounts of data as they are kitted out with infotainment and connectivity services as well as self-driving functions. 

Testing an autonomous S-Class saloon on German roads last year Mercedes-Benz said images from the onboard stereo camera alone generated 300 gigabytes of data every hour.

Modern vehicles have become mobile computers, with 1.5km of cables, more than 50 control units and the computing power of 20 advanced personal computers, Mr Winterkorn noted. “The car must not become a data monster,” he said.

In the same way that social networks gather data in order to offer targeted advertising, data will offer the car industry the chance to offer new services.
Some of these services will clearly be beneficial for the consumer: sensors in the car can automatically alert the driver when the vehicle requires a service and let the repair shop know exactly what needs fixing.

But some impacts may be more intrusive: insurance companies are expected to push customers to install telematic systems that could identify aggressive driving patterns and penalise these with higher premiums.  

The car industry also faces a challenge in how to store all that data securely, whether in the vehicle or in the cloud. It must also decide which data can be discarded and which must be preserved, in the event of an accident. 

In the audience on Sunday were German chancellor Angela Merkel and British prime minister David Cameron – whose governments were rocked in different ways last year by allegations of government snooping on internet communications. Privacy is expected to be a big theme at the CeBIT show.