Ford has had to rehire more than 350 engineers it had laid off, after the artificial intelligence they used to design vehicles made serious errors. These failures reduced the reliability of the models and triggered a surge in recalls. The company admitted that relying solely on automation without human oversight was a mistake. For drivers, this means Ford cars could now be safer.
AI doesn't understand contexts or material fatigue 🛠️
The artificial intelligence applied to design optimized shapes and weights, but did not foresee how certain materials would behave under continuous stress or in extreme weather conditions. The algorithms prioritized efficiency without considering the actual durability of the parts. This led to structural failures in critical components such as brakes and suspensions. Ford discovered that the models generated by AI lacked the empirical judgment that only decades of engineering experience can provide.
The robot designed cars, but didn't know they break 🤖
It turns out the AI was very good at drawing aerodynamic cars, but terrible at understanding that a car is not a piece of IKEA furniture: it has to last longer than one trip to the supermarket. The rehired engineers now spend their days reviewing digital files and muttering phrases like even an intern wouldn't do this. Meanwhile, the AI has been relegated to less harmful tasks, such as predicting the weather at the factory.