Do You Know What Your Car Did Last Night?

A Vermont local woke to a surprise Thursday morning when he looked out of his bedroom window and saw that his car had changed color. In fact, not only had the car had a fresh coat of paint, its tires had also been replaced, new windshield wipers fitted and its interior professionally cleaned - at its own expense. That’s right - the car used its own earnings to pay for itself to be cleaned. 

The owner, Martin Heidegger, 42, a quantity surveyor, is not unlike other driverless car owners and had been using his vehicle as an additional source of income. Whilst Heidegger slept each night, his car was out working a taxi service. Check the vehicle’s Uber rating, however, and you will see countless reviews describing the poor condition of the car. Heidegger’s frequent visits to construction sites meant the car was nearly always covered in mud - and the inside wasn’t especially clean either. Needless to say, the owner's habits were hindering the car’s taxi business. 

It seems the car took things into its own ‘hands’ and sought out a much-needed makeover. The bill was paid for by the car’s taxi earnings, raising questions as to how self-aware these cars really are, and whether the vehicles have a right to use their earnings.

The car producing company issued a comment: " ... behavior is expected as the car was tasked by the owner with optimizing the profits". The car AI in collaboration with company Analytics Center estimated that getting better user reviews would benefit taxi gig profits and decided to go for a facelift. Cars usually do some maintenance autonomously such as washing and charging. This time AI went for more radical solution. 

Mr Heidegger cannot complain, however, as both business and positive reviews on the car’s taxi service saw a significant boost over the weekend, the tips and profits are up from the weekend prior.