AI WORKFORCE
AI quality checks needed adult supervision
Ford says it has rehired hundreds of experienced engineers after its AI quality checks failed to match human expertise.
The carmaker had been using AI across parts of its business, including factory quality checks, as part of a wider push to cut costs and improve productivity.
But executives now say the tech did not perform as well as expected.
According to Bloomberg, Ford has brought back more than 300 veteran quality inspectors in recent years to help fill the gaps left by automated systems.
Charles Poon, Ford’s vice president of vehicle hardware engineering, said AI is a useful tool, but only if it is trained on the right information.
He added that Ford had not made enough use of the knowledge held by its most experienced engineers.
The company had rolled out 900 AI-powered cameras in its plants to spot quality issues earlier.
But Poon said Ford wrongly assumed that feeding design requirements into AI would be enough to improve quality.
Spoiler: the machines still needed the people who actually knew what they were looking at.
Here’s what you should know:
Ford says AI helped, but could not replace experienced human judgement.
More than 300 veteran engineers have been rehired to train systems and support younger workers.
The company says the shift helped improve vehicle quality.
Humans 1, AI 0
Ford said many veteran workers had left before their expertise could be used to train its systems.
Some have now been brought back to help improve the tools and mentor younger staff.
The update comes as Ford celebrates topping the US JD Power Initial Quality Study for mainstream carmakers, a ranking it had not led since 2010.
Ford said the improvement came after a major talent refresh, including new se
AI didn’t see that one coming. - MV