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Ford Seeks Patent For Tech That Listens To Driver Conversations To Serve Ads (therecord.media) 166

Posted by msmash from the driving-nuts dept.
Ford is seeking a patent for technology that would allow it to tailor in-car advertising by listening to conversations among vehicle occupants, as well as by analyzing a car's historical location and other data, according to a patent application published late last month. The Record: "In one example, the controller may monitor user dialogue to detect when individuals are in a conversation," the patent application says. "The conversations can be parsed for keywords or phrases that may indicate where the occupants are traveling to." The tech -- labeled as "in-vehicle advertisement presentation" -- will determine where a car is located, how fast it is traveling, what type of road it is driving on and whether it is in traffic. It also will predict routes, speeds and destinations to customize ads to drivers, the application said.

The system could pull data from "audio signals within the vehicle and/or historical user data, selecting a number of the advertisements to present to the user during the trip," the patent application said. By monitoring dialogue between vehicle occupants the ad controller system can determine when to deliver audio versus visual ads, providing ads to drivers as they travel "through a human-machine interface (HMI) of the vehicle," the application said.
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Ford Seeks Patent For Tech That Listens To Driver Conversations To Serve Ads More

Ford Seeks Patent For Tech That Listens To Driver Conversations To Serve Ads

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  • Ford Seeks Patent for Turning Away Customers (Score:5, Insightful)

    by turp182 ( 1020263 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @10:42AM (#64779967) Journal

    There, I reworded that a bit.

  • To Hell with this (Score:3)

    by DesScorp ( 410532 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @10:43AM (#64779975) Journal

    I'm gonna find me an old Jeep CJ-5 or CJ-7, restore it, and drive it forever. I'll see if I can find my wife an old VW Beetle. They're expensive, but simple to run and cheap to operate, and we won't have goddammed car companies listening to us like Big Brother.

    • You will also need your own fuel extraction and refining complex, as well. I suggest you start now :)

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by DesScorp ( 410532 )

        You will also need your own fuel extraction and refining complex, as well. I suggest you start now :)

        I live in America, not Europastan. We're not getting rid of gasoline here.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by stooo ( 2202012 )

          >> We're not getting rid of gasoline here.
          Yeah. It will die a tad bit slower, but still go away.
          Economics....

        • You will also need your own fuel extraction and refining complex, as well. I suggest you start now :)

          I live in America, not Europastan. We're not getting rid of gasoline here.

          Are you on drugs? The fuck we aren't getting rid of gasoline...

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DarkOx ( 621550 )

        depends how much he drives. Probably possible to get those running on alcohol without doing anything to involved. Change the jets in the carbs, adjust the static timing (advance curve is probably ok-ish), swap any soft lines for modern rubber.

        Even if gasoline goes away motor/lubricating oil will be around, even electric power equipment like compressors, saws, etc need lube.

        distilling enough ethanol in his basement to keep those engines fed should not be to great a challenge.

      • ou will also need your own fuel extraction and refining complex, as well. I suggest you start now :)

        We're not getting rid of gas any time soon...at least not in MY remaining lifetime....

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Kokuyo ( 549451 )

        Current decisions by carmakers suggest you're wrong.

        • you know how long he is going to live? Wasn't there a Heinlein short story about that?

    • I'm gonna find me an old Jeep CJ-5 or CJ-7, restore it, and drive it forever.

      I've been in the process myself of looking for a decent shape decent deal on a CJ-7 myself.

      Something I can off-road a bit and drive through inclement conditions, and is pretty much purely mechanical....and not connected to anything.

      OH...and manual transmission.

      (I've never owned an automatic transmission vehicle before).

      • Me, I prefer a 1991 or so Grand Wagoneer... with the picture of wood stuck on the sides.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by GoTeam ( 5042081 )

          Me, I prefer a 1991 or so Grand Wagoneer... with the picture of wood stuck on the sides.

          Hopefully with the wood-grain sticker slightly peeling in a few areas for that authentic 90's touch!

    • No need for any of that. Simply disconnect the cell antenna.

      • No need for any of that. Simply disconnect the cell antenna.

        That may be a viable option now, although it wouldn't surprise me to learn that, even today, some cars simply don't work if they fail to contact the mother-ship within a certain period of time. And I predict that before too long, all new cars will require a data connection to work properly. Without it, they'll run in "limp mode" with only the most basic features active.

        Our rulers in the corporatocracy are doing their utmost to get us used to not owning anything. We'll pay, and we'll be responsible for maint

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by GoTeam ( 5042081 )

          And I predict that before too long, all new cars will require a data connection to work properly. Without it, they'll run in "limp mode" with only the most basic features active.

          Heh, I could imagine trying to roll the windows down, but the car's "Safe Mode" denying such actions. Would be useful for car leases too. "Your monthly payment is past due, please make a payment to access your vehicle".

  • Two-Party Consent (Score:5, Interesting)

    by omnichad ( 1198475 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @10:46AM (#64779991) Homepage

    In some states, when a friend asks for a ride you have to say "This ride may be recorded"

  • Very good. (Score:5, Funny)

    by vbdasc ( 146051 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @10:48AM (#64780001)

    Now I know what brand my next car WON'T be.

  • Next ford development (Score:5, Funny)

    by Hoi Polloi ( 522990 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @10:53AM (#64780017) Journal

    Ford is also working on a stab proof speaker system

    • Going on the assumption that there's no such thing as a stupid question I'm going to ask what does "stab proof" speakers mean?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      Speaker stabbing is how rockers got distortion before distortion pedals were invented. It was alleged discovered when roadies accidentally dropped or damaged amplifiers and there was no time or money to replace them before a show. Guitarists thought, "Hey, I like that scratchy fuzzy sound! How can I get more!"

      They'd stab or cut the speaker cone in different places to get different sounds. Stabbing the outside of the cone has the best results in my opinion (based on Youtube experimenters).

      The Kinks took it t

  • Ad overload (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Hoi Polloi ( 522990 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @10:54AM (#64780021) Journal

    You want to make me hate your company and your product? Just force your ads on me more and more. As an example, I will never use Geico voluntarily.

  • Only one good reason to patent this.... (Score:3)

    by PackMan97 ( 244419 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @10:56AM (#64780029)
    ...to prevent anyone from putting this in a car for at least 21 years. Time to hold onto my old dumb car.

    • Naw, Ford sells it to someone else, with a royalty on every ad served. Ford get the ad pay while someone else gets the bad press.

  • Creepier than humans (Score:3)

    by war4peace ( 1628283 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @10:57AM (#64780037)

    Imagine having a passenger who listens to your conversations and serves you ads while you drive.
    While that is annoying, now imagine a non-human passenger doing the same. A passenger who never forgets, never shuts up, never cares it served you the same ads for the last X months or years.

    I wonder how many accidents would be caused by drivers enraged by this kind of ad-serving technique.

    Wife: "Honey, we should swing by $STORE to buy me a new pair of shoes."
    Driver: "Another one?? They're like %300 a piece! And they don't even look so good."
    Ford: "You're in luck! $STORE shoes are on sale! 10% off for purchases values $500 and above!"
    Driver *veers towards the closest tree at 100 mph*

  • The real business model (Score:3)

    by smoot123 ( 1027084 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @10:58AM (#64780049)

    I'll pay $20 a month to disable this feature. Snark aside, this would subtract value from Ford cars. In all seriousness, I'd only be willing to buy a car with this if they dropped the price by a lot.

    I'm curious where exactly they intend to "present" the ads. Hopefully not on the in-dash display, that would be quite the distraction and I want as many pixels devoted to showing the navigation display as possible. Would they inject ads into a radio feed? I could see them partnering with SiriusXM (do people still listen to satellite radio?) for something like that. Maybe they replace an ad in a digital radio stream.

    I almost exclusively listen to podcasts I've pre-downloaded to my phone using a player app on the phone. I don't see how they'd add ads to that. Maybe if they partner with Apple or Google they could get the default music players to insert ads. Thank goodness I use a third party podcast app [beyondpod.mobi] which probably flies under the radar.

    • For NOW it does comrade. For now.

    • The only places in-car ads could possibly work are via the radio as you suggest (maybe even interrupting your own playlist inserting ads between tracks?) or as something in the in-car infotainment screen.

      If they ever do implement this - filing for a patent does not necessarily imply intent to use it - then I imagine a popular mod would be to disable or dike out the cellular modem so the car can't call home at all. Basically everyone uses their smartphones for GPS nav anyway so I'm surprised that's not alrea

    • >I'm curious where exactly they intend to "present" the ads

      The driving assistance capabilities are overriden, and used to brake and pull safely to the curb.

      At that point the power locks come down, and cuffs emerge from under the dash, forcing hands to stay on the wheel.

      Safety assured, volume increases 40%, brightens on screens is boosted, and the ad commences.

      While the ad plays, the driving assistance eyeball monitor makes sure that the eyes remain on the screen at tall times. If they stray, the ad star

  • Every motor vehicle I have from now on will be minutely examined by one of my gear head frens to remove any of that stuff. What I'll do after they make it mandatory of course I have no idea, buy a horse maybe.

    • Re:Yikes! I knew this was coming (Score:4, Interesting)

      by vbdasc ( 146051 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @11:11AM (#64780129)

      Going Amish suddenly doesn't look like such a bad idea anymore.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by stooo ( 2202012 )

      Horses will soon have a mandatory connected IA implanted chip also, neighing ads before going.

    • Become the gearhead. Doing so makes you much more capable throughout many aspects of your life. It's always been mind-expanding and if you can master computers (Slashdot at least used to be a tech site) then you can master modern vehicles.

      There is every reason to master the technologies you use and little reason not to since wrenching your own saves gobs of money, prevents being ripped off, and gives you control you get no other way. While I grew up in the breaker points and carb era new stuff doesn't intim

  • If they go ahead with this, they can choose any color of ink for their ledger, as long as it's red.
  • Literally every other internet company is. All I need to do is mutter "I'm thinking about buying a koala bear" while driving and suddenly every single webpage is serving koala ads.
  • How does "in a car" make this patentable? https://patents.google.com/pat... [google.com].

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Because the US patent system is a travesty that just serves to prevent competition, nothing else.

      • Thank you for that blinding glimpse of the obvious. You do understand, I hope, that patents were created to give inventors a monopoly on their inventions for a limited amount of time to allow them time to develop it and profit from it before anybody else was allowed to make and sell the invention without the inventor's written permission.

  • Creepy (Score:2, Offtopic)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 )

    I was searching for something creepier than Elon Musk threatening to rape Taylor Swift after she endorsed Trump (reference: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/... [x.com] ), this one comes close.

    And yes btw, 100% of women uninterested in breeding with that lunatic would see it as a rape threat.

    • Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      He did that? Well, he better not travel to Europe then, because he just commited a crime and probably a hate-crime at that.

      That guy is really not very smart.

  • At some point cars will be free as all your data, movements and conversations will get sold.

  • How long will it take? (Score:3)

    by dark.nebulae ( 3950923 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @11:35AM (#64780219)

    How long will it take until the online instructions are posted for cutting the microphone wires?

  • Or, if forced to buy something that surveils the living fuck out of me, things to 'modify':
    o Cut GPS and cellular antennas
    o Cut all microphones and cameras inside the vehicle
    Additionally: find a way to wipe any 'logging' the vehicle is doing.

    Eh, screw it. If it comes down to it, I always wanted a '64-and-a-half Mustang anyway.

  • Go fuck yourselves.

    Sincerely, a never, EVER potential customer.

  • Prior art (Score:3)

    by Tony Isaac ( 1301187 ) on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @12:02PM (#64780353) Homepage

    Alexa has been doing this for years already!

  • Infotainment should be banned in all vehicles. More pedestrians are needlessly dying.

  • Yes, snooping on private conversations is just creepy. I suppose in certain states, it might be considered recording a private conversation and therefore illegal. But snooping aside, who in the world wants ads of any type in their car? We tolerate website ads to support websites that we like, but we pay outright for cars and therefore expect zero ads. I suppose if Ford sold a free car that was entirely funded by ads, I might consider that, but otherwise, it's just a bad idea.

  • I fail to see (Score:3)

    by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * on Wednesday September 11, 2024 @12:27PM (#64780423)

    ...how they get the ads to my 8-track.

  • Would you like to pay $5.99/mo to drive faster than 30 miles per hour? With $19.99 you can drive unlimited distance.
  • ... putting an Alexa in your car?
  • I'm going fairly sure the guys who buy Ford F150 trucks and install a gun rack outside the back window won't care.... or know.

    Just pull a Microsoft Recall ... if people complain, say you won't do it.... until 3 months from now, when we're all busy watching the news of Trump's legal actions after losing the election.

    It's a winning formula.
    So much so, ALL the car companies are already doing it. Ford just wants a patent. Read the TOS of Nissan, just for instance... I have. All your credit card numbers, voting,

    • I'm the F150 Truck buyer. The gun rack is INSIDE the back window. What moron would install it outside?
      Nobody reads terms of service anymore, or even the docs the dealership prints out for us to sign. The print is too small, the terms too long, and the language too cryptic, nobody's got time for that, etc. We assume that corporations are only interested in maximizing profits at our collective expenses and that no liability is assumed by the company for ever and ever, until well after the heat death of the

  • ...not to buy a Ford.

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