Toyota invests $1 billion in artificial intelligence in U.S.

@PTownsend, yes.

In spite of all its problems, Toyota has a billion US dollars to throw around? All the announcements about the death of the Japanese auto and electronics industries are rather premature.

Having spent time in the US recently, I can vouch that there isn't very much intelligence there, so there is a bigger market there for any form of intelligence.

With Japan having been known as a world leader in robotics and tech, why is Toyota going to Silicon Valley and not creating a Japanese version of Silicon Valley in Japan? Are universities lacking here? Is Japan, Inc. stifling creativity?

Tesla just announced they are no longer getting batteries from Panasonic. and Third Point unloaded all IHI and Softbank shares after TPP has announced. Well done Toyota. You nailed it!!

SkyNet will self aware soon, or Matrix!

@Joshua Degreiff

because Japan doesn't have open minded like America does

do you know who created Sony?

So in future what will happen to the millions of professional drivers if this self driving tech is implemented all over the world ?

That's reasonable - the tech innovators tend to congregate in Silicon Valley, where the prevailing mentality is it's OK to try something outside the box even if ya fail, just get up and keep trying again.

More explanations: http://www.japantoday.com/category/opinions/view/why-europe-isnt-creating-any-googles-or-facebooks

Gokai. Yes, Japan is doing much better than what the "official" reports suggest. As long as people think Japan isn't a threat they'll keep buying Japanese products. It's a brilliant strategy.

How about investing that money in "natural intelligence"? Are people becoming so stupid that we can no longer trust them to think? A billion dollars would go a long way in trying to find ways of improving education, and increasing the intelligence of the people. But then again, if people were smarter, they might not consume so much, and this might affect the bottom lines of companies like Toyota.

@Webber Do you know how profitable is Sony beside of PlayStation line? Sony is just a ghost of the past like everything else in Japan, they just think we're still living in the 80's! Sony is still keep flatting is thanks to PlayStation 4 not even PS Vita is helping them...

@Alex Toyota is investing in America because Japan doesn't have open minded like America does "thinking out of the box" also robots are cheaper than humans I shall pointed;

1/Robot can work 24/7 / Humans can't.

2/Robot don't ask Union benefits, pension, Medicare, no day leave, no personal day, pay sick day, no maternity leave, not waning promotions or raise, no envy between them, no cheating, no romance at work, no lunch time, no vacations / Human ask everything Robots doesn't.

So if you're a multi corporations around the world with many branch what you will do to minimize the cost of unskilled labor force if you have the chance to put robots instead humans. Ask yourself that questions. Corporations doesn't care about you or your needs, or your family needs if not so why we have so much not equal rights opportunities?

Like Charles Darwin quotes says one of his books "I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection"

Always predator (corporations) eat the weak (unskilled labor force) to survive (to be more rich) that's the term of Natural Selection.

It's moral to do it No but that the future our humanity go, it's what it's.

Japan has its talents. No need to invest in the US. This generalization about Americans being open minded more than Japanese people is false. Japan invests too much money in America and it does this just because it is a US vassal state.

Stop investing money in the US and create jobs for your own people!