Ford's AI experiment backfires as car giant rehires humans
Ford has admitted its push to rely heavily on AI fell short, revealing it has hired hundreds of veteran engineers after concluding the technology alone could not deliver the quality improvements it expected.
The US automaker has hired more than 350 veteran engineers over the past three years to help address quality problems that have cost the company billions of dollars.
Ford, however, insisted it is not abandoning AI and said the improvements have come from combining the technology with decades of engineering expertise.
'This reorg allowed us to look at the entire lifecycle of a vehicle – from software development to suppliers on our plant floor - as one continuous and collaborative flow,' a Ford spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
'At the same time, we have rallied the whole company around a clear vision: Quality Comes First. We've built a culture of relentless problem-solving and recognizing our teams when they prevent issues from reaching customers.
'Using AI is just a small part of this. One tool in a toolbox and culture that relies on experience and expertise as it does modern manufacturing tools.'
The so-called 'gray beard' engineers - many of them former Ford employees or recruits from suppliers - were brought in to reprogram the company's AI tools and tackle quality problems that have cost Ford billions of dollars.
'Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but it's only as good as the information you use to train it,' Charles Poon, Ford's vice president of vehicle hardware engineering, told Bloomberg and other reporters on a call Wednesday.
Ford has admitted its push to rely heavily on AI fell short, revealing it has hired hundreds of veteran engineers after concluding the technology alone could not deliver the quality improvements it expected
Chief operating officer Kumar Galhotra told the outlet the company implemented mandatory meetings to troubleshoot quality issues and reprogrammed AI tools to identify glitches before they occur
The US automaker has hired more than 350 veteran engineers over the past three years to help address quality problems that have cost the company billions of dollars
'Over prior years, we didn't pay as much attention as we should have to the experience of our most knowledgeable engineers that have been with us through many product cycles.'
Chief operating officer Kumar Galhotra told the outlet the company implemented mandatory meetings to troubleshoot quality issues and reprogrammed AI tools to identify glitches before they occur.
Galhotra acknowledged Ford's reliance on automated quality systems alone did not produce the 'desired results,' prompting the automaker to bring back technical specialists to 'hunt for failure points before a part ever reaches the plant floor.'
Ford says pairing experienced engineers with its AI tools has helped improve vehicle quality.
'We're seeing our warranty coverages come down. We're seeing our recall costs come down,' Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said Thursday on Bloomberg TV.
'These are all contributing to literally hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of a tailwind for Ford on cost.'
The company also remains on track to achieve its goal of cutting $1 billion in costs this year.
Ford learned that AI could not replace the expertise accumulated by longtime engineers.
Ford says pairing experienced engineers with its AI tools has helped improve vehicle quality
Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said the company is seeing warranty and recall costs decline, helping drive hundreds of millions of dollars in savings
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'Mistakenly, we thought that by just introducing artificial intelligence and ingesting the design requirements that we had, that that would produce a high-quality product,' Poon said.
He added that the only way to get the most out of the company's automation, machine learning and AI tools is to ensure 'they were trained by the most experienced individuals.'
The strategy appears to have paid off. Ford climbed to the top of J.D. Power's closely watched Initial Quality Study among mainstream brands, finishing ahead of rivals Toyota and Honda and behind only luxury brands Porsche and Genesis overall.
The result marked a significant turnaround after Ford ranked 10th among mainstream brands and below the industry average in last year's survey.
Three Ford models - the F-150 pickup, Super Duty truck and Mustang sports car - ranked highest in their respective categories.
Ford nevertheless remains the most recalled automaker in the US despite the improved quality rankings. The company said it expects about $1 billion in warranty and material costs this year.
Galhotra said recalls are a 'lagging indicator' of vehicle quality and predicted they would decline as newer models reach customers.
By focusing on preventing issues 'upfront,' he said Ford expects recall numbers to 'steadily come down with the newer vehicles.'
Queen meets Queen of fiction as Garden Party radiates majesty & magic
One is the queen of children’s fiction and the other is - well, the Queen.
And yesterday Camilla held an audience with Harry Potter creator JK Rowling at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
The pair were pictured smiling and standing side-by-side as they discussed the importance of young people’s access to books.
A post on the monarchy’s official social media read: ‘With a shared passion for books and a deep commitment to children reading for pleasure, The Queen and author J.K. Rowling have met at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
‘Her Majesty and Ms Rowling discussed the importance of ensuring that young people have access to books and the vital part reading plays in opening doors for future generations.’
The Royals are in Scotland for a week of engagements north of the Border.
King Charles, 77, was greeted to a rendition of Proclaimers ‘I’m gonna be (500 miles) by the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Pipes and Drums of 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland on his arrival to the capital.
The bands also treated him to the Tartan Army anthem ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’, originally by the Spanish duo Baccara.
Queen Camilla and JK Rowling discussed the importance of children's access to books during their meeting at Holyroodhouse
He was joined at the palace garden by his brother, Prince Edward, and sister, Princess Anne plus around 200 guests, Ms Rowling among them, who were invited as a thank you for their work in the local community.
Teenager Isla Grist, who sufferers from the rare butterfly skin condition, the life-limiting Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), met the King and Queen at the event.
She was joined by her mother, Rachael Grist, and former Scotland footballer Graeme Souness, the EB charity DEBRA president, and his wife, Karen.
After meeting the Royal couple the 17-year-old, from Black Isle, north of Inverness, said: ‘He asked me about the charity that me and Graeme are involved in and was very up with his knowledge and I spoke about how much we do for the charity and having EB.
‘It was very exciting and I was a little bit nervous but mostly exciting. It was a great honour.’
Mr Souness added: ‘Not many people get to meet the King and Queen and I’m from Edinburgh, I’m in my home city, so to be thrilled would be an understatement.
‘We are a small charity, EB affects five thousand people in the UK and so have to raise money and make people aware.
‘Awareness is everything. When you dig deep into this condition it is harrowing when you witness it.
‘I’m hoping the pictures of Isla with the King and Queen appear everywhere that will help us enormously as it is all about awareness.’
Pop star Eve Graham, a singer in the 1970s group the New Seekers, was made an MBE at the King’s investiture ceremony while former Hearts chairwoman Anne Budge and former Scotland rugby captain Rob Wainwright were made OBEs.
Ms Graham, from Perth, said being named in the New Year’s Honours list had been a complete surprise.
She said: ‘I’d been in America last November, singing over there.
‘I came back and two days later on the doorstep was this letter.
‘It was just so out of the blue, I was still suffering from jetlag.
‘It was just amazing and so humbling.
‘Though I’ve had a great career, the last thing I expected was to be honoured for it.’
The New Seekers had international success with tracks like I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing and were Britain’s 1972 Eurovision entry.
Ms Budge stepped down from her long-standing position as chairwoman of Hearts at the end of last year, though remains an honorary president.
The businesswoman said the investiture had been a ‘lovely, lovely experience’.
She said Hearts had experienced its ‘ups and downs’ during her tenure, but is nevertheless on an upward trajectory.
Ms Budge said: ‘I’ve still got my season ticket, I’ve never given that up.
‘I haven’t enjoyed the last few months because it’s really quite difficult standing back when you’ve been so heavily involved over such a long period.
‘That said – I’m now the honorary president.
‘Which really means I don’t have to do anything except be wheeled out every so often. So, that’s quite nice.’
Mr Wainwright, who has thrown himself into fundraising for the MND charity My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, set up by his late friend and Scotland star Doddie Weir, said it had been ‘a real honour to meet the King and to have recognition’.
He said: ‘I’ve been in great company, some really interesting people who’ve done amazing things.’
Earlier on in the day, during a visit to the Royal Academy of Scottish Art and Architecture celebrating its bicentennial, Queen Camilla said she was determined to give her husband ‘a nudge in the right direction’ to get some of his paintings on show in Scotland.
She was speaking at the academy as part of Their Majesties annual Royal Week in the country.
Towards the end of her hour-long visit she told guests: ‘Can I just say before I leave how proud I am to be your patron. I think this will be the first of many visits because I know you have so many wonderful collections that I would absolutely love to come and have a look at.
‘Sadly I don’t have the talent my husband has or my late father-in-law had. I do try to paint, very badly. But sadly don’t have much time. But there’s nothing I enjoy more than looking around other people’s work.’
President Gareth Fisher asked for everyone’s best wishes to be passed on to the King and said they hoped he would keep painting.
‘He has to be encouraged,’ Queen Camilla laughed.
‘I hope one of these days perhaps he can bring a few of his paintings here.’
She was told the hosts would ‘love to have one of his Scottish landscapes’ and replied: ‘Well I shall mention it to him. I shall give him a nudge in the right direction.’
‘I am very proud to be part of this.’
Founded in 1826, the academy’s long serving honorary academician was Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, who enjoyed an association lasting more than 50 years.
Before she left the Queen signed a visitors book and cut a beautifully decorated birthday cake.
Meanwhile, Prince William was in Aberdeen to mark the third anniversary of the Royal Foundation’s Homeward programme.
He visited Langstane Housing Association, a Homeward delivery partner and registered social landlord.
The Duke of Rothesay as he is known in Scotland was put to work and chatted to support staff and residents as he helped prepare welcome packages of essential items for people settling in their new homes.
