from Hacker News

Ford patents in-car system that eavesdrops so it can play you ads

by arkadiyt on 9/7/24, 4:21 AM with 152 comments

  • by autoexec on 9/7/24, 5:57 AM

    > It could also identify your voice and recognize you and your ad preferences, and those of your passengers.

    This must be a quote from Ford right? Here's a hint Ford, you don't need voice recognition for that because the ad preference of everyone in the car is always that you don't push ads at us.

  • by yashg on 9/7/24, 7:03 AM

    Everything is becoming about ads. Ads, ads everywhere. On phone, on computer, now even car. This despite everyone knowing that consumers HATE ads. It's like companies are using ads as a ransom. Pay us more money on a regular basis else we will make your life miserable with ads and more ads.

  • by agys on 9/7/24, 9:28 AM

    Not directly related but a small town in Switzerland decided to ban public advertisement (billboards).

    The motivation is to avoid visual noise/pollution and “We didn’t recognize any public interest in having billboards”.

    https://www.msn.com/en-ph/money/markets/a-swiss-town-banned-...

  • by aucisson_masque on 9/7/24, 7:59 AM

    > Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property. The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans.

    Who are they kidding seriously ?

    In my country they sell Dacia car, that's the cheapest and 'shitiest' car you can buy that is made in Europe. It has very few electronic so few bullshit, even the windows doesn't have electrical motor for the passenger

    At least you don't get Ford creeping on you.

  • by theginger on 9/7/24, 7:47 AM

    How is this patentable? This is existing tech used in a way that has been speculated about for nearly 20 years. This is not an innovation or invention.

  • by hinkley on 9/7/24, 6:02 AM

    I always feel weirdly conflicted about people patenting things that I’d rather nobody use at all.

    There was a “clever” CSS trick a coworker did to take a simple task and make it into a daredevil stunt. Just baffling that someone would want to do it that way. I guess someone thought it was novel because they talked about patenting it. My response was, “by all means please do. I never want to see this again in the next 19 years.”

    They interpreted that as criticism and decided not to pursue it. I’m not sure how they saw through my subterfuge. It’s a mystery.

  • by jokellum on 9/7/24, 5:43 AM

    Louis rossmann video talking about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5euh13nd10g

    Had a decision earlier this year to buy a Tesla vs a dumber car. 2019 Silverado I think has the best middle ground on terms of "smart" tech that is still easy to repair and doesn't sell my info to insurance companies.

  • by UberFly on 9/7/24, 6:33 AM

    When I'm filling my gas tank and the screen on the pump is blaring ads at me I want to smash it. Car companies, please don't also make us want to smash our dash-boards.

  • by moandcompany on 9/7/24, 6:29 AM

    The dystopian future of mobility will be free-to-ride, self-driving cars operating as taxis where we have to pay to exit and are incentivized to pay to opt-out of ads.

  • by bobim on 9/7/24, 6:33 AM

    How can you design a car with safety in mind and then propose this? Driver's attention is not available for anything but the road in principle. At anytime. Ford is Boeinging or what?

  • by isoprophlex on 9/7/24, 5:45 AM

    From the article:

    > there’s a recognition that an occupant’s “natural inclination to seek minimal or no ads” should be balanced with “maximum opportunity for ad-based monetization.”

    Or, you know, you just don't try to monetize every fucking second your users interact with your (expensive, paid-for) product.

    Every day we get just a little closer to the future Philip K Dick promised us in Ubik: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

  • by BLKNSLVR on 9/7/24, 6:37 AM

    I'm not sure how unexpected audio/video will go with driving regulations. I've got a 2009 car that makes me click "agree" before i can change the radio station.

  • by dehrmann on 9/7/24, 6:16 AM

    Good news is it prevents anyone else from doing it, too.

  • by barelycompetent on 9/7/24, 6:03 AM

    The title is false and the article is click bait fake outrage spam.

    This is a published application for a patent. It has not been granted.

    The success rate for patent applications is surprisingly low.

    This will likely never be granted, or granted after many limitations* have been added by Ford.

    Last, just because Ford is trying to patent something does not mean they will ever actually implement that IRL.

    * "Limitation" has a specific meaning in patent law.

  • by tjpnz on 9/7/24, 6:38 AM

    I'm thinking of patenting a system where many consumers make a conscious decision not to buy their next car from Ford.

  • by LightBug1 on 9/7/24, 7:49 AM

    I'm never buying a car newer that, say, 2000 ever again.

  • by buro9 on 9/7/24, 6:46 AM

    I'm not sure it's patentable given that smart TVs already do this, the prior art is obvious.

  • by mceachen on 9/7/24, 4:15 PM

    Unfortunately this has been in the works for years already—this is from 2021: https://www.vice.com/en/article/ford-wants-billboards-to-bea...

  • by poikroequ on 9/7/24, 6:07 AM

    I guess one good thing about this patent is it may prevent other automakers from implementing such systems.

  • by Tempest1981 on 9/7/24, 8:55 AM

    > It could also identify your voice and recognize you and your ad preferences, and those of your passengers

    Imagine the ads an Uber driver will be receiving, after chatting with hundreds of random passengers a month.

  • by quacksilver on 9/7/24, 1:21 PM

    I wonder if you will get car radios with an 'ad-blocker' that will cut out radio ads and play their own in the gaps created. Sort of like Brave browser was trying to do.

    Would this be legal?

  • by globalnode on 9/7/24, 6:50 AM

    wheres it going to get the ads from if your not connected to any data channel? is it going to store them on the car? get them from wireless towers? or just assume a data channel perhaps.

  • by dukeofdoom on 9/7/24, 7:30 AM

    In-Car System That Eavesdrops So It Can alert authorities

  • by bbarnett on 9/7/24, 6:05 AM

    I thought it'd be Waymo first:

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38010602

  • by Bluestein on 9/7/24, 8:57 AM

    They will monetize the time spent in your car. The car is yours. Your time is theirs to market.-

  • by jmclnx on 9/7/24, 3:05 PM

    Well I have added ford to my what is becoming a long list of Autos I will never buy.

  • by ziofill on 9/7/24, 8:48 AM

    And I guess disconnecting the microphones will void the warranty?

  • by leemailll on 9/7/24, 7:23 AM

    imaging ford is granted and then sue around and win

  • by PeterStuer on 9/7/24, 9:22 AM

    Could we reference the STASI as prior art?

  • by petepete on 9/7/24, 6:16 AM

    I only listen to ad free radio while driving. The thought that the tranquility of Radio 3 would be interrupted by an advert disgusts me. I would never buy a car that had this, no matter how smart it was.

  • by bryanrasmussen on 9/7/24, 6:44 AM

    KA-CHING - now everybody who wants to make an eavesdropping car system that plays you ads will have to pay Ford in order to add this feature to their cars!

  • by ssss11 on 9/7/24, 12:00 PM

    Oh great