GM taps former Google exec. for its first-ever Chief AI Officer role

General Motors is going all in on artificial intelligence—hiring its first-ever chief AI officer to help lead the company’s efforts in the growing automotive tech space.

The details: The automaker has appointed technology veteran, Barak Turovsky, who has worked at Cisco and Google, to establish the company’s AI strategy and vision across various facets of its operations, from vehicle autonomy to manufacturing.    

• Turovsky brings a great depth of experience to the role, serving as head of product for Languages AI during his 10 years at Google, which included incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning into Google tools.

• The former Google head has also worked on generative AI, large language models, and computer vision, reporting directly to Dave Richardson, senior vice president of software and services engineering at GM.

Between the lines: The appointment of Turovsky is the latest move by GM that spotlights how the company is making artificial intelligence a key part of its operations, including helping dealers to order inventory and catching quality issues, with a growing number of consumer-centric applications as well. 

• GM’s EV strategy includes using predictive AI and geospatial algorithms to evaluate EV traffic patterns to select the best charger locations, as part of its partnership with Pilot Travel Centers and EVgo. 

• GM Motorsports—central to the automaker’s efforts to enhance the performance of its vehicles—uses machine learning to create models based on vehicle performance data, track conditions, and competitors’ behaviors on the racetrack. 

Why it matters: In the race to adopt AI and other tech-driven innovations—companies like GM are realizing that having the right tech leadership in place is becoming more and more vital to overall strategy execution.

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