American carmaker Ford has re-hired more than 300 experienced engineers for quality control. The company concluded that artificial intelligence cannot fully replace human knowledge and experience.
Ford has increasingly relied on artificial intelligence in production in recent years. Among other things, it uses cameras to detect defects in vehicles and help improve quality. However, according to the company's leadership, the technology has not surpassed the assessments of experts who have been developing vehicles for years.
"Artificial intelligence is an excellent tool, but it is only as good as the data used to train it," said Charles Poon, Ford's vice president for vehicle hardware development.
Poon acknowledged that the company had underestimated the value of long-serving engineers in product development. The returned experts are now helping to train AI systems. They also take on the role of mentoring younger colleagues.
The return of the experts coincided with Ford's rise to the top spot among major manufacturers in the J.D. Power initial quality study. The company is on top of the list for the first time since 2010. The improvement is attributed to changes in the leadership of the development, production, and supply chain divisions, as well as the return of a large number of experienced engineers.
