By Steven Symes 
Car rental juggernaut Hertz shocked many when it recently announced rental returns would be scanned by AI for maintenance issues through a partnership with startup UVeye. This comes at a time when many are fearful AI might replace their job or that it poses other threats in our rapidly changing world.
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Despite what some are claiming, in an official press release, Hertz made it clear it will still have humans inspecting cars after they’re returned by customers. But UVeye’s inspection stations, which scan the exterior of vehicles, using machine learning to detect issues like low tire tread or damage so those issues can be addressed.
Of course, Hertz is framing the use of this technology as a wonderful way to elevate the customer experience. It did the same when the company introduced a large fleet of electric cars, many of which have since been sold off for cheap.
In other words, not all so-called innovations are improvements. However, UVeye has been landing contracts with dealerships, auctions, and other auto-related companies which claim the scanners work great for catching issues on trade-ins, fleet vehicles, and we guess now rentals.
We can see how using sensors to scan a car, the AI to analyze those scans, could catch things humans might miss. After all, we don’t think anyone’s underneath Hertz’s rentals inspecting the entire chassis after a vehicle is returned.
But this overly enthusiastic reliance on AI also isn’t great. We suspect some business leaders like the idea of AI replacing human workers because it’s cheap, doesn’t need breaks, and won’t cause other problems. But we’re not convinced it’s the magic bullet and solution to all our modern problems like how it’s being frame in some circles.
Still, this is an interesting development for Hertz. We bet quite a few other automotive businesses, including Hertz’s competitors, will be watching what happens next with quite a bit of interest.
The first Hertz location to get this cutting-edge tech will be Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. If deemed successful, it should spread from there.
Image via UVeye