Did Honda Just Invent the Robotic Backseat Driver?

No one asked for this.

October 27, 2017 9:00 am

To build or not to build? That is the question.

… at least with regard to the Sports EV, an electric coupe concept that caused some sparks after Honda showed it off at the Tokyo Motor Show earlier this week.

Similar in design to the Urban EV concept Honda unveiled in Frankfurt last month, the low-sitting Sports EV allegedly runs on an “emotion engine” that reacts not only to a driver’s decisions and reactions, but also their “emotions,” and communicates directions and guidance to them accordingly.

What the hell (we think) that means: the car is going to come with a built-in backseat driver powered by some sort of AI platform.

Honda EV (3 images)

If that’s actually the case, the Sports EV concept sounds great … for your mother-in-law. Look, we’re all for communication and aren’t even necessarily against a bit more integration of AI into our daily lives, but unsolicited driving commentary is a thing we need less of, not more.

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