Khaberni -Recently, Tesla electric car owners learned that they will receive a free feature; starting from July 12, the chatbot "Grok" has been automatically installed and made available for use in all new Tesla cars.
"Grok" is an AI-based chatbot developed by "xAI", an artificial intelligence company launched by Tesla CEO Elon Musk two years ago.
It appears that Musk is leveraging his diverse assets and business ventures to add extra value for customers. However, in this case, it makes sense to wonder who benefits more from the "gift" which enhances Musk's business, according to a report by Fortune which "Al Arabiya Business" viewed.
With this update, "Grok" now appears as a button on the Tesla car's main screen. Users can ask it questions or assign it tasks to perform, just as they would with any other chatbot, whether it's "ChatGPT" from "OpenAI" or "Gemini" from "Google".
Currently, Grok cannot control any of the car's functions, such as windows or air conditioning, but it is not difficult to imagine many practical uses for the large language model inside the car, from responding to emails to summarizing a book.
Who benefits?
The new deal between "Tesla" and "xAI" is likely to make Tesla a major client for the artificial intelligence company, although neither company has disclosed any financial details related to this partnership.
"Tesla" sold nearly 1.8 million cars just last year, meaning this new partnership will open the door to millions of customers to start using "Grok".
If even a small percentage of new Tesla owners use this feature, it could lead to increased computing costs for "xAI", which already spends about a billion dollars each month to build its data centers and buy enough computer chips to compete with other AI companies.
But it is important to consider the way data is shared now after installing "Grok" in Tesla cars. In its disclosures, Tesla stated that drivers' conversations with "Grok" would be securely processed by "xAI", in line with "xAI" privacy policy, indicating that the conversations will be anonymized and not linked to any specific car.
A look at "xAI" privacy policy reveals that the company collects personal information, user content, social media information, and other data associated with the use of the service, and that it will share data with contracted service providers, associated companies, and third parties with whom customers agree to share their information.
But the more important question is: What exact data will "xAI" be able to access when using "Grok" in the cars?
Musk has suggested adding a "wake word" to activate the chatbot, but will this limit the parts of conversations that "Grok" captures inside the car? Or will it listen to everything said in the car once activated through the main screen?
Conversations are only part of the data available. Ultimately, cars have become one of the most powerful data collection devices in daily life. Cars contain multiple computers and sensors, and some estimates suggest that they produce about 25 gigabytes of data every hour, data that could be particularly valuable to a company with a massive AI model that needs data to train it.
Tesla says in its own privacy policy that it uses car data in its autonomous driving AI models, allowing customers to download copies of the data it collects for themselves.
However, Tesla does not detail the types of data it uses and for what purposes, and it has not updated its privacy policy since adding "Grok" on July 12, so it is unclear how conversations in cars will be used.
Substantial Risk
Albert Kahn, Executive Director of the "Surveillance Technology Oversight Project," a public interest organization providing legal services and focusing on how technology is used to target individuals, said: "This is part of a broader trend we see in the automotive industry".
He added: "Cars have shifted from a symbol of autonomy on the open roads to being the most surveilled part of our lives. There is a tremendous amount of risk in using the data secretly collected from our cars against us, whether by law enforcement or immigration officials, or simply exploited for profit without our consent."
Specifically, Tesla cars are equipped with a series of cameras, and they collect data from video and cameras, ultrasonic sensor data, Global Positioning System and location information, vehicle biometric data such as speed, battery use, odometer readings, event logs such as data from collisions or malfunctions, and user interaction data.
All these are data provided by "Tesla" to government authorities to find criminals or assist law enforcement in investigations. It is unclear whether conversations with "Grok" are also allowed to be used in investigations.
Kahn stated that with the increase in the number of cameras and sensors in autonomous vehicles, an increasing number of types of data are being collected from drivers, adding: "These companies rush to claim that our data is anonymized, but it is very difficult to actually anonymize this type of information in a way that prevents the re-identification of its owners later."
As the person behind some of today's foremost tech products—from electric cars and autonomous driving technologies to large language models, social media sites, and Starlink internet satellites—it seems that Musk is increasingly insistent on integrating various components of his business empire to offer a new and unique product to consumers, and the decision of consumers about the viability of these concessions is left to them.
