F1: Abu Dhabi AI firm G42’s in key partnership with Mercedes
Mercedes Tram Principal Toto Wolff and G42’s CEO Peng Xiao hope to develop performance benefits on track through AI (Artificial Intelligence) and big data analytics.
Peng Xiao, CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Artificial Intelligence organization G42, has described the strategic partnership that his company is embarking on with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team, as a ‘watershed moment.’
The core purpose of the multi-year collaboration was to develop marginal gains and performance benefits on track for Mercedes through G42’s AI and big data analytics capabilities.
In a sit-down interview held in Abu Dhabi, Toto Wolff, Team Principal at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS, expressed his excitement and optimism around the partnership and how this can benefit Mercedes going forwards.
“You can see in a world of machines, the human connection is important,” he said.
“As you say, we are an engineering and data-driven business. The quicker we learn, the better we are.
We are in a relative game and an honest sport where the stopwatch never lies,” he added.
“You’re either better than your competitors or not. So, I believe in marginal gains.
“But marginal gains are nothing compared to the magnitude of performance advantage that we can have with Peng and his team,” said Wolff.
Building on Wolf’s comments, Peng Xiao said: “For me, as a practitioner in the AI domain, this is a watershed moment.
“I believe the highest pursuit in my field is to better understand human behavior. To better ultimately understand our own human behavior and our mentality, you have to go into domains where things are better controlled and there are boundaries, and in this example, sports.
“In particular a high stress environment where you are driving a car. If you can look and go deep to understand the behavior and driver behavior, I believe it is so exciting and we can translate this into broader domains of human behavior, which for me is the highest purpose that AI can serve,” added Xiao. Khaljeel Times