General Motors is imagining a future where you can take your eyes off the road – literally.
The automaker brought me to their Forward event in New York City. CEO Mary Barra outlined the company’s next generation of innovations, from conversational AI to a fully autonomous “eyes-off” driving system.
The feature will debut on the Cadillac Escalade IQ in 2028. When active, turquoise lights on the exterior will signal to other drivers that the computer is in control.
“With eyes off, we’re trying to take away that cognitive load on the highways,” said Aamir Ali of GM.
Drivers will be able to read messages, watch shows, or relax while the car handles the work.
“You have the option of now engaging in something totally different than watching the road,” said Ali.
GM says the system relies on cameras, radar, and lidar to monitor surroundings and react in all conditions.
“Because we’re going for a higher autonomous capability with eyes off, we need precision,” added Ali.
Auto analysts say it’s an ambitious goal.
“The caveat in all this, of course, is they have to execute. Still got three years before a lot of this stuff is going to be showing up. And this is really hard stuff to do,” said Sam Abuelsamid of Telemetry.
Before that system launches, GM will begin adding Google’s Gemini AI to new and some existing models. The company is moving away from Apple CarPlay in favor of a fully integrated software experience.
GM is also developing a centralized computing system powered by NVIDIA. The new setup will replace dozens of separate control modules, allowing for faster updates and new features.
The automaker is also working on home energy management technology. It will use an electric vehicle, backup batteries, or solar power to keep a house running during an outage.
“At any given point, it shows you how much total available energy capacity is available. So in this case, there’s about 11 days of backup storage that is available in order to run your home,” said Kurt Kelty of GM.
Only a few states – including California and Nevada – currently allow eyes-off, hands-off driving. So how fast this future arrives might depend on new regulations.
