General Motors gm and International Business Machines ibm on Tuesday said they would combine IBM's artificial intelligence software Watson with the carmaker's OnStar system in order to market services to drivers in their vehicles. The feature, called OnStar Go, is set to debut early next year in more than 2 million GM vehicles with 4G service, IBM and GM said in a joint statement. IBM's Watson, which beat two previous winners of the quiz show "Jeopardy!" in 2011, will sift through data in order to recognize a driver's habits, allowing third-party marketers to deliver targeted offers, whether nearby coffee shops, reminders about shopping-list items, or paying for fuel from their dashboards. Carmakers have been adding connected services into their vehicles to duplicate the convenience of smartphones, which can suggest nearby restaurant offers, or point the way to a gas station. Data generated from connected vehicles is valuable to automakers, although some consumers have been wary of privacy and data security issues.

IBM's machine-learning tech will help GM's system learn a driver's tastes, habits and decision-making processes. General Motors is teaming up with IBM to use Watson's artificial intelligence not to power an autonomous vehicle, but to market services to drivers on the road. The GM and IBM partnership has given birth to OnStar Go, a next-generation version of GM's existing OnStar subscription packages for mobile data, navigation, assistance and security. The partnership will focus on tailoring in-vehicle marketing and entertainment to drivers' tastes by expanding the OnStar AtYourService feature, GM's offers and deals platform. The service today makes recommendations via the vehicle's mobile app for places to eat, shop and do things, but with Watson it will become smarter about how it makes suggestions.

General Motors said Wednesday it had reached a partnership to integrate tech giant IBM's artificial intelligence platform into its vehicle infotainment system, giving it the ability to make dining recommendations and order prescriptions. The Detroit-based automaker will pair IBM's Watson with its popular safety and connectivity system in more than 2 million 4G LTE-connected vehicles to create OnStar Go. The company said examples of how the pairing could bear fruit include getting dining recommendations, reminders about the need to buy household items and help retrieving prescriptions from the pharmacy. Among the first applications: Drivers will be able to use the "cognitive mobility platform" to locate ExxonMobil gas stations and pay on screen in the vehicle, GM said. They will also be able to use the OnStar Go system to get customized music playlists from mobile app iHeartRadio.

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Udacity, the education platform focused on helping workers gain skills they need for great careers in tech, has partnered with IBM Watson, Didi Chuxing and Amazon Alexa to offer a new nanodegree in artificial intelligence, the companies announced today at the IBM World of Watson conference. IBM Watson is co-developing the curriculum of the course with Udacity. Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing intends to hire students who successfully complete the nanodegree, as does IBM. And Amazon Alexa is serving as an advisor to Udacity in developing the new AI nanodegree. According to Udacity's founder Sebastian Thrun, who previously started Google's innovation shop Google X and its self-driving car initiative, the new AI nanodegree will be for students who already have a level of mastery in software development.

Slack is going to tap into IBM pet Watson and its cognitive computing skills, covering both bots and other conversation inferences. Slack's own Slackbot will be the first to get the intelligence makeover, with IBM and Slack looking to share what they learn from the experience with other developers. The companies believe integrating Watson will improve accuracy and efficiency of troubleshooting with the bot. IBM is also working on a Watson-powered Slack chatbot specifically for IT and network issues. IBM's Watson is really sharing its wisdom around: it's just joined the Weather Channel's bot on Facebook Messenger, where it will learn your preferences and offer up personalized forecasts and even news for to US-based bot chatters.

The world's largest education company is leveraging IBM's Watson platform as it tries to take college tutoring from campus libraries to the virtual world. Pearson is partnering with Armonk, New York-based International Business Machines Corp. to use the Watson artificial intelligence product as an online tutor for college courseware. The companies on Tuesday announced a pilot project that's already underway in the U.S. and is set to expand through 2017 and 2018. Both companies declined to disclose terms, costs or revenue projections from the venture. The project is part of Pearson's efforts to shift its business into the digital age, as it struggles with slumping textbook sales and lower college enrollments in the U.S. IBM is seeking to drive revenue growth by developing practical applications for Watson, its software that wooed the sector five years ago by beating two human champions on the TV game show Jeopardy!

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As artificial intelligence (AI) begins to power more technology across industries, it's been truly exciting to see what our community of developers can create with Watson. Developers are inspiring us to advance the technology that is transforming society, and they are the reason why such a wide variety of businesses are bringing cognitive solutions to market. With AI becoming more ubiquitous in the technology we use every day, developers need to continue to sharpen their cognitive computing skills. They are seeking ways to gain a competitive edge in a workforce that increasingly needs professionals who understand how to build AI solutions. It is for this reason that today at World of Watson in Las Vegas we announced with Udacity the introduction of a Nanodegree program that incorporates expertise from IBM Watson and covers the basics of artificial intelligence. The "AI Nanodegree" program will be helpful for those looking to establish a foundational understanding of artificial intelligence.