Google, GM and Dolby Weigh In on AI in Car Systems

Industry executives from Google, General Motors and Dolby Laboratories said Wednesday (March 12) that they see a future where the personal automobile becomes a rolling smartphone, able not only to entertain drivers but also to make them more productive — all while keeping them safe.

During a panel discussion at SXSW 2025 in Austin, Texas, the executives said the future of automotive will be a lot smarter and customized. They see the addition of movie screens in vehicles, integration with productivity tools like Teams or Slack, videoconferencing with Zoom, the ability to customize music in the front to be different from the back seats, and even gaming.

PYMNTS Intelligence data shows that most carmakers anticipate artificial intelligence (AI) to play a central role in in-vehicle technology. In fact, 75% of carmakers plan to add AI to vehicles within the year. And from what the panelists at SXSW said, that technology is already here.

Hands-Free Tech

Several features are already in the works: Google Assistant for Android Auto is leveraging large language models to offer drivers hands-free help, such as finding car information from the owner’s manual through voice, according to Gretchen Effgen, director of global automotive partnerships at Google.

Alan Wexler, senior vice president of strategy and innovation at GM, highlighted the company’s Super Cruise technology, which allows for hands-free driving on over 750,000 miles of GPS-enabled roads across the U.S. Wexler said vehicles equipped with this technology have already logged over 280 million miles.

Super Cruise “takes the stress out of driving,” Wexler said, describing how drivers can travel on highways without touching the steering wheel. The system uses sensors to monitor the driver’s eyes, ensuring they remain attentive to the road even while their hands are free.

Many of these new services will come with a subscription fee. Wexler said that the automaker expects to see about $25 billion in subscription revenue per year by 2030.

For consumers concerned about having to pay again after purchasing a car, Wexler said it’s up to them whether to subscribe or not. He said GM offers options based on research about customers’ subscription interests.

“We’re not trying to force people to do anything. We’re giving them choice,” Wexler said.

The panel’s discussion centered on in-car capabilities, not autonomous vehicles. Wexler said GM is no longer pursuing robotaxi development. Last December, GM shuttered Cruise, the startup it acquired in 2016 to develop autonomous vehicles after years of failing to make the technology work. The demise came after a handful of high-profile incidents, including a pedestrian a Cruise AV dragged after she was run down by a human driver in 2023.

Wexler said GM has absorbed Cruise’s engineering workforce and its intellectual property.

Read more: Report: GM Cuts 1,000 Jobs at Cruise After Ending Robotaxi Project

Dolby Atmos and Google’s Android Auto

Pankaj Kedia, vice president of Americas, commercial partnerships at Dolby Laboratories, said his company is collaborating with GM to make its Dolby Atmos service available throughout the automaker’s Cadillac electric vehicle 2026 lineup.

Dolby Atmos is an advanced audio technology that makes sound move around the listener in a more immersive way. Sound is positioned above, behind or around the listener for a 360-degree experience.

Kedia said the Cadillac Optiq features a Dolby Atmos sound system with 19 speakers. The upcoming Celestiq model will boast 23 speakers.

Kedia explained that Dolby has moved away from traditional channel-based audio to an object-based approach that considers space rather than speaker set up. “You create an experience that makes sense in space, and then the technology should render that into any number of speakers,” he said.

The car environment is an ideal space for immersive audio experiences.

“You have ceilings to leverage space to really get this experience that … the artist intended for you,” Kedia added. “It’s really a studio-like environment inside the car.”

Dolby has gone as far as inviting musicians and creators to test their music in vehicles, ensuring the in-car listening experience matches the artist’s intentions.

“What happens in this system is you get a lot more space around the sound. It’s not just about volume, but clarity and detail,” Kedia said, explaining that the immersive audio experience creates a more natural listening environment that can actually reduce driver distraction.

Effgen said Google’s research team works closely with experts at MIT to develop guidelines that minimize distractions while driving.

“We focus on minimizing the number of touches and glances away from the road,” Effgen said, adding that even as technology capabilities expand, safety remains paramount.

Google’s auto offerings range from the open-source Android Auto platform to Google built-in products featuring Maps, Assistant and Play Store, as well as enterprise-based solutions that let automakers create brand-specific interfaces.

Read more: 75% of Automakers Plan to Integrate GenAI Into Vehicles This Year

Addressing Concerns

The panel addressed several concerns about emerging automotive technologies, including driver distraction, data privacy and subscription services.

Regarding distraction, Wexler said GM taps customer research and telemetry data to understand how drivers interact with various features. “Safety is paramount,” he stressed, noting that GM closely monitors driver attention during hands-free driving.

On data privacy, Wexler said that most data collected from vehicles is anonymized and “de-identified.” “It’s not attributed to the person unless you give specific consent,” he said, noting that the primary purpose of data collection is to improve safety and user experiences.

Effgen highlighted the importance of considering how vehicle technology intersects with urban planning and multimodal transportation. She said different regions face unique challenges and suggested learning from cities worldwide to create better mobility solutions.

As vehicles become increasingly connected and autonomous, the panelists agreed that balancing technological advancement with safety, privacy and user experience will remain a key challenge for the industry. While fully autonomous personal vehicles may still be years away, the transformation of cars into smart digital mobility platforms is already well underway.

 

Photo: From left, moderator Rebecca Bellan from TechCrunch, Pankaj Kedia from Dolby, Gretchen Effgen from Google, Alan Wexler from GM.

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