Second To Last, It’s All Hybrid From Here, Are The Corporations AI Ready

Paul Daly: 0:00

Hi. Yo, I love that new intro that makes me just want to get up and dance. If you're just listening, you have to watch the video version of this show on LinkedIn live whatever tomorrow, but today we're talking about being second to last. It's all hybrid from here and are the corporation's AI ready? People really want to know who I don't know, it's been about I think I was a younger man. Last time we were in the studio recording a morning show. I mean, technically I was but I feel like to age.

‍Kyle Mountsier: 0:55

First of all, I realized as I was starting the show yesterday, because I had to, like everybody that could co host was like out and traveling and doing stuff. And I'm like, I think this is the first time in two years, one month in 17 days that we've ever done. A single shot hosting the whole show. What is even happening? Have I ever done a single? I don't think you ever I don't know. Yeah, it was wild. But it was great. Because your interview with with Paul was

Paul Daly: 1:25

was on the rise. Yeah. So yeah, he is the best man. Not not great. First of all, if you haven't watched it, we're gonna release it on LinkedIn. If you don't follow us on LinkedIn, please do. A lot of our best stuff ends up on LinkedIn. It's a real platform. If you haven't been there in a while, just go to ASOTU search it, follow. And then like get in the comments because we read them off we see them all. And that's a lot of fun will really sit there but pulverize is first of all, like a full on foot taller than me. And I say tall. So it already felt a little weird that I'm like I have to like hold the mic up instead of just usually over down. But I'll tell you why. Ben he is like the the Brian patch of the Netherlands. Yep. Very different than Brian but in true to form, very in tune with what is going on around the just relationships with dealers knowing what's going on, obviously Netherlands like closer, so yeah, it was it was fun to be able to flip that Kyle texted me he's like, No one can make it. And I'm like, I'm like loading my family into a car right now.

Kyle Mountsier: 2:28

Yes, exactly. Well, we have this interview, you have this interview. Speaking of interviews, this isn't a segue, but we are. We're excited to hang out with Zach from invoca day after noon at two o'clock Eastern if you're not registered, make sure you get registered, go to the cio.com Scroll down just a little bit. revolutionising phone call management going to be a great 30 minute hot, quick webinar, get in, get out, don't bust your day. So two o'clock Eastern, make sure you're there. So

Paul Daly: 2:58

you have a lot of interest in these a lot of interest in these 2030 minute webinars not just from people who are seeing them, like the format and like it's over before you know it, but also from our industry partners who are like, Man, I think I think I like that I think I want to do a webinar. So we hope to bring you a bunch of new webinars this year. And as we continue to dial on this 20 to 30 minute format,

Unknown: 3:18

it just just Yes, we've got

Kyle Mountsier: 3:21

another 20 to 30 minute format happening on TV. This is a fun one for our team. Our team kind of threw this together and we're like, Ah, that's a great idea idea, too. And so we're doing episode one through three mash up. We're releasing Episode Three here soon, but we've got a mash up of more than cars happening Tuesday, November 21. At 7pm Eastern, a little thing that you can watch with the family at home at night, you can pull it up on your YouTube app on your TV, any of those places you can bring over some friends maybe have a little watch tonight as you head into the long weekend for Thanksgiving. So thanks.

Paul Daly: 3:56

Especially on Thanksgiving, it's just when the family is like what do you do? It's like I work at a car dealership and all the stigma that comes along with that be like No, no, no, no, no, right? Like mon clock or YouTube search more than cars and just show them an episode or part of an episode. Like none of this is the auto industry. I'm a part of There you go. What else? What else is that? That's

Kyle Mountsier: 4:17

probably let's get into it. That's enough. Enough. Okay,

Paul Daly: 4:19

okay. Yes, we're gonna go. I feel like I'm missing. Okay, whatever we're going storytime. So time. Oh, okay. So UAW update we've had we've had the sad trombone. And then we've had this one. Not that one, this one.

Unknown: 4:38

And now

Paul Daly: 4:41

has there been a compromise? This may very well be the second to last story. You hear from us about the UAW strike. Can I get an Mei man as they UAW appears to be nearing the approval of all contract agreements with the Detroit three despite initial opposite issue at several GM plants. The agreements are leaning towards acceptance marking a significant shift in the entire relationship with the industry General Motors deal gained some crucial support from its big SUV plant in Texas with a 61% approval in their battery plant in Ohio with a 96% approval how that tips the overall vote tally unofficial Of course 54% Yes, 46% no much closer than everybody wants it to be. But,

Kyle Mountsier: 5:31

but it seems like all of the sentiment from from a bunch of different plants and like the kind of feeling as they're starting to count seems like it's gonna tip over the line. It

Paul Daly: 5:42

does Ford is seeing over 66% approval so they seem pretty set slant is over 72%. So as long as GM can get the sucker good, we might be good on all three fronts. So the agreement did face rejection at 11 GM assembly plants but had a disproportionate strong support at parts plants and warehouses. Were not surprisingly the largest raises or per for our proposed the ultimate Altium cells battery plant will be joining the national agreement upon ratification. And GM hasn't been commenting through the ratification process smart. The UAW continues to emphasize all the gains that they've made for workers highlighting veterans workers and all the good things that John Fane and the crew have worked for.

Kyle Mountsier: 6:29

I I'm just happy about this update. I'm excited to see like when the stamp of approval goes on, and when we can finally just have a little joyful celebration with all the crew that listens in the morning, that we don't have to have another UAW update for a hot minute. Looks like things are gonna move forward. Obviously, the the plants that are the highest impact as far as the rate as far as the wages are leaning in. And so hopefully that tips the scales so that we don't have to talk about this anymore. And I'm kind of done with talking about it this morning, too. I am but

Paul Daly: 7:00

I will say we just came back from kind of like a mashup week we were at used car week and Phoenix late last week. And then we made the transition to Palm Beach, Florida, which was very rainy, by the way it's sunny in Syracuse, and the whole time in Florida was rainy. So there there's that but we were at MRC, two different auto events. Did you have one? Kyle, did you have one conversation about the strike?

Kyle Mountsier: 7:22

Not a single one? Not every everyone's talking about interest rates, affordability, and repossessions.

Paul Daly: 7:30

That's it. That's it. So when people hear the word strike come up, even one time Hey, good morning to our friends in the live stream. Adrian. Good morning. As always, Mark, it's good to see here, Doug, good morning. Good morning. Thursday am is a good morning. Just love the people that are in the live streams, having comments and like to share as many as we can. All right speaking. Um, I don't know, I can't I don't have any segue after that I wasn't planning on. So let's talk about Toyota, Toyota, and a significant shift announced that their next generation Camry will be sold exclusively as a hybrid, reflecting their move to adapt to evolving market trends and consumer preferences most importantly, to build more environmentally friendly vehicles. So the redesigned Camry will be available only as a hybrid. And it's typically been gas or hybrid. Is there an Eevee? Camry? No, there's not yet. No, not a fully V. Toyota executives are saying hey, like the importance of hybrids in the current market as all time high, right? Because it's talking about EVs. This transition is happening. And the cameras gonna feature however, their newest hybrid powertrain, which includes larger electric motors for that faster acceleration that everybody likes about at least. So I think that's a really, that's ever move.

Kyle Mountsier: 8:46

That's our big move, because that's the thing like when you when you say, when you talk to someone about their experience in an Eevee, they always mentioned it, it's fast. It gets off the line, right. So like you get that experience without having to go full plugin. Yep, exactly.

Paul Daly: 8:59

So Toyota is now doubling down on their investment in North Carolina battery plant to support the increased hybrid demand, which is expanding from six to 14 battery lines. And I love this my favorite part of the whole thing. Toyota's legendary Chairman Kia Toyota remarked, there are many ways to climb the mountain that is achieving carbon neutrality. People are finally seeing reality, which by the way, is the very polite and proper Japanese way of saying, I told you, so.

Kyle Mountsier: 9:26

I love it. Yeah, we love our Toyota hybrid. And so that's like, just a personal thing. But it's cool to see the Camry going in as only hybrid. I don't think this is what this is. What's interesting. It's still going to be this thing where like Toyota buyers are just gonna go hmm, I didn't know that I was buying a hybrid, right? It just accelerates faster. It just a little bit faster off the jump and I'm all the sudden getting instead of 35. I'm getting 45 Miles again, I don't know what the MPG is. proposed to be the PI hasn't got to be a lot. It's going to be great. He gets a lot. And they don't have to go through all of the stress of Do I qualify for tax incentives? Can I get this thing installed in my garage or at my apartment complex or whatever I charge, but they get the benefit of going into that next step into the move to EVs, to good things,

Paul Daly: 10:18

Toyota, bucking the trend, even like having a sedan in the world, right? Even having a sedan like even continuing

Kyle Mountsier: 10:25

to make this speaking of bucking the trends, so segway,

Paul Daly: 10:30

was kind of close to our hearts. A

Kyle Mountsier: 10:32

recent Cisco survey named Cisco's AI Readiness Index, which you can click on the link in the show notes and read the whole thing. First of all, because it's really good, it's graphically rich, it's great. I gather responses from over 8000 business leaders in companies with more than 500 employees across 30 different markets. It found that while 97% of respondents felt an urgent need to implement AI, only 14 fellow fully prepared for the transition. So here's the couple of like anecdotes on on why they didn't feel prepared. More than half the respondents felt like there would be negative consequences if they didn't move to utilizing AI. But the tangible barriers to implementing AI at scale were something like 81% of companies surveys include indicated that their current systems get this I don't know if anyone's heard, this is your happy place right now for you included siloed data that's unable to be ingested by AI. So like, there's this great desire of 97% of respondents saying, yes, we want to head this way. But hey, I necessitates a data system that's ready to be injected into the learning model for AI. And they're just saying that it's not ready. And then there's the other piece, which is the people side, so 82% of the respondents said that their corporate boards and leaders are receptive to AI implementation, while 68% of it of the of that is true about the employees, so employees are kind of a little less willing to go, we're completely ready for this. Yep. Here's a quote from the article and then give some commentary on this because there's some stuff close to heart for us. The report reads, when implementing AI scale change, management must have a people focus, ensuring open dialogue to address apprehensions and illustrate how AI can complement human roles rather than replace them. You

Paul Daly: 12:25

know, that is what that that's been a huge topic of conversation. Everyone's saying AI is going to replace these jobs. So there's a natural hesitancy right. First of all, first and foremost, natural hasn't tinsy. Secondly, this is one of those rare technologies where the corporate environment is adopting it quickly, because it's such a direct line to savings to efficiency, like typically. So that that also is probably causing some of the disparity. And also, this is a survey of companies of 500 people or more, you and I have such an insight into country companies, way fewer than this crisis. Yeah. And it is an equalizer like we're starting to see saw companies really leverage this technology, they don't have the challenges, and they're catching up and leaping ahead in many, many ways, because they're able to quickly adopt it as a small team. And it's almost like a sport, right? Like, how much can we implement AI to augment what we're doing? That's what

Kyle Mountsier: 13:19

I just Just so everybody knows, like, the team at asoto is working furiously to utilize AI in creative and design in, in the words that we're choosing medication flow Keishon flows, like internal communications, project management, so that we can be as efficient as possible provide as many resources as possible to the industry. Now, we're always you know, that's that's where the key is, is like, how do you balance what the AI can give you leverage to create efficiencies, and then layer in that creative human elements. So you just you'll always see that creative human element happening even in the world of asoto. But but it's all leveraged by the speed and efficiency created by AI. And then we see tools like sales AI from impel or connect was just renamed themselves. Yesterday, which I gotta look, I can't even remember they did. They already had AI in their domain, there was aI calm AI, so so they're in there, you've got other other different tools that are leveraging AI for communication within the industry. So there's so much to be had, and learn from right now and dug into even an auto.

Paul Daly: 14:31

I'll throw this in there, too. I think there you know, because we live we live startup life, you and I on multiple fronts, entrepreneur life on multiple fronts. And I think this is one of the things that we haven't quite seen it yet, but we're going to see it in the next 12 to 24 months where that the intuitive understanding that startups have of AI is going to affect their actual value in the marketplace because other companies are going to see the way and realize what they're doing with such small teams. And that is going, companies are gonna be like, we want that DNA, learning DNA. Yes. Right. And that understanding of how to think, not what to think because you can read things on what to think. But it's not until you start using the things that you really kind of understand how to think. There you go. Well, we're not telling you how to think. We're asking you to help us learn how to think we're trying to be connected to the frontline of the auto industry all the way up through the top. Go out there love some people more than you love cars. Send us some feedback to we always like to hear from you