Not content with learning all there is to know about you through other tentacles, Google is now going to live in your car. Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault have announced a technology partnership to embed Android in their cars. They say…
Not content with learning all there is to know about you through other tentacles, Google is now going to live in your car. Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault have announced a technology partnership to embed Android in their cars. They say it will provide “intelligent infotainment and customer-focused applications across multiple models and brands, scheduled to start in 2021“ and “next-generation infotainment systems with secure connectivity by offering a platform to integrate data management, infotainment systems and to facilitate over-the-air upgrades and remote diagnostics”. You will be able to have access to “a rich ecosystem of automotive apps on the Google Play Store and have the ability to answer calls and texts, control media, find information, and manage vehicle functions with voice using Google Assistant.”
So this means lots of very useful communications, social media and vehicle functions, along with a further loss of privacy. Will it be difficult, or impossible to access these functions without agreeing to some finely-written user agreement that gives companies the rights to harvest what they will about you?
And, over-the-air updates; that’s updating your car in the same way your smartphone updates its apps. There’s an obvious security issue there, and it’s also one step closer to the point where you don’t own the car, you merely rent it
as a service.
