Are car dealers using AI to scan your car? That’s what a new video claims, but users aren’t happy about it.
According to TikTok user Jordan Ochoa (@jordan_the_ocho), she recently visited a Toyota dealership in Tucson, Arizona. Ochoa said this is a fairly common occurrence and the maintenance performed is routine.
That’s why she was so surprised when she arrived at the dealership and her car was suddenly surrounded by “this black camera system.”
“I thought, ‘This is really weird,’ because I didn’t see these people who were here last time,” Ochoa recalled.
After further investigation, Ochoa said he realized the camera system was powered by artificial intelligence.
What is the AI-powered vehicle inspector used by Toyota?
Ochoa was upset when he found out.
“I didn’t agree with that,” she says. “The only thing I consented to is the maintenance of my vehicle. I never consented to my data being taken, my photos being taken, my vehicle information being taken. I never consented to that.”
Worried, she consulted the staff, who confirmed that it was actually a camera system that utilized AI.
“So I asked them, ‘Okay, so what is it for? Where does the data go?’ “Oh, it just goes to our database,” she says. “Okay, so there’s a dealer recording system, which is perfectly fine. But…is that data from the AI and cameras going somewhere else? That was my question. They didn’t know.”
Ochoa said he then asked the general manager questions. She says she told the manager that the system was supposed to have a local server working.
Problems with AI
Ochoa says the problems she experienced are indicative of growing dissatisfaction with artificial intelligence. She praises Precision Toyota, a Tucson, Ariz., dealership for investigating the issue, but says she questions the overall need for these systems.
“This probably shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” she says. “And I think this is another reason why we should all be aware of what kind of tracking systems, what kind of AI is being used in our world, because it starts with your car, it starts with complete surveillance overreach, and most importantly, your data, which is non-consensual data, is sold.”
In a follow-up video, she added: “My problem with it is, if it’s just going for maintenance, it’s just going for maintenance, and there’s no point in having this AI there at all. We don’t know where the data is going, especially when it’s taking information without consent.”
Ochoa also said in a follow-up that the dealership confirmed that the servers were cloud-based. That said, she says her dealer also told her there was no need to use the AI system. Instead, you can just tell them that you don’t want to use the service and that you want to run the inspection manually.
What do these AI machines actually do?
According to UVeye’s website, the service uses photography and AI to detect potential problems with your vehicle.
These problems may include problems with the undercarriage of the car, damaged windshields, misaligned wheels, worn tires, and other issues with the car’s exterior condition.
The company claims that this scanning allows dealers to process cars more quickly. Additionally, dealers can dispute fraudulent charges made by customers. For example, if a customer claims there was a scratch on their car when they picked it up at the dealership, the dealer can look at the time-stamped scan to see if the scratch was already present before the car arrived.
The company’s website states that preparing to install one of these machines may include securing space for an on-site server. However, the company’s privacy policy states that information may be stored and processed between servers in the United States, the European Union, and Israel.
by email to motor 1a UVeye spokesperson wrote:
“UVeye operates more than 1,000 inspection systems around the world and supports some of the world’s largest automotive brands with transparent and accurate vehicle condition scans to provide dealerships with transparency and an enhanced experience. By providing drivers with a clear visual view of their vehicle in a way they’ve never seen before, this technology helps educate consumers about safety, maintenance needs and overall vehicle condition, while building trust and transparency.”
“Our commitment to safety extends to data protection. Scan data is encrypted and access controlled, and we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of security, transparency, and responsible data processing across all levels of our organization.”
Is this information at risk of being hacked?
It’s natural to feel uncomfortable when your information is shared with other companies without your explicit consent or full understanding of where the information is going.
However, it is important to note that a person’s information does not become more vulnerable just because it is sent to a country currently at war.
Hackers can target businesses and data centers anywhere in the world. For Internet-connected systems, the physical location of the server is typically far less important than other factors such as unpatched vulnerabilities or credential theft. That’s why Amazon Web Services’ 2020 white paper claims that “the physical location of your data has little impact on the threats that propagate across the internet.”
People concerned about personal privacy and data security should try to opt out whenever possible, rather than worrying about where a company’s servers are located. This means that data cannot be stolen unless it resides on a company’s servers.
motor 1 We reached out to Toyota via email, Precision Toyota via the contact form on its website, and Ochoa via direct message on Instagram and Facebook. We will update this article if either party responds.
