Mobile Electronics Association president Chris Cook quizzed CES panelists on innovations in the smart car space. Accenture digital strategist Monika Minarcin noted that AI doesn’t just power autonomous driving but also voice recognition, digital assistants and precision marketing. At Humanising Autonomy, chief executive Maya Pindeus is using behavioral AI to build a global standard for interaction between people and machines. DarkStar Vision chief executive Joe Scalisi is working on a passive color night vision solution that he believes can “enhance the automotive sector” with rear view mirrors and motorcycle helmets.

Minarcin noted that disruptors need to “build on your customer experience, which should drive what your product becomes.” Pindeus agreed that, “we have to ask how AI can elevate the customer experience,” adding that innovators must take people into account when deploying AI. “Otherwise, you see people as an object and that creates clunky products,” she said.

Scalisi is partnering with consumer OEMs and companies to bring “an almost full-light color at night” in a small inexpensive package. With regard to the connected car space, he stated that, “we have a long way to go, especially on the EV side of the fence.”

“I would completely rebuild the platform,” he said. “The electric grid is 80 years old and we’re trying to push technology on it that it wasn’t built for. If we could fix the grid, EVs have a chance.” Another possible point of disruption can come from battery technology. “I believe sodium-based ion is the future,” he said.

Pindeus was dubious about “recreating anything from scratch,” but echoed Minarcin when she said, “just because you have new technology doesn’t mean it brings enhancement.”

“Let’s understand the gaps we need to fill,” she said. “And technology comes second.”

Minarcin added that, “we have to think about connection.” “We think of AI as one-to-one,” she said. “We have to think about the one-to-many or the many-to-many. If we started thinking that way, it would cause disruption.”