One doesn't have to dig too deep into legal organizations to find AI skeptics. AI is getting tremendous attention and significant venture capital, but AI tools frequently underwhelm in the trenches. Here are a few reasons why that is and why I believe GPT-3, a beta version of which was recently released by the OpenAI Foundation, might be a game-changer in legal and other knowledge-focused organizations. GPT-3 is getting a lot of oxygen lately because of its size, scope, and capabilities. However, it should be recognized that a significant amount of that attention is due to its association with Elon Musk.

Ford Motor and Volkswagen announced a worldwide partnership on Tuesday that's aimed at saving the two companies millions on development of pickup trucks, vans and transit vehicles, with an eye toward working together in the future on self-driving and electric cars. Under the alliance, each company will design and produce cars for the other. In Europe, Volkswagen will begin to sell Ford-produced medium pickups and commercial vans by 2022, and Volkswagen will develop a city-oriented van for Ford that would arrive by 2023. Each company would enjoy the flexibility to brand and market the new vehicles according to its own strategies, executives said. The partnership is not a merger and will not involve either company taking an ownership stake in the other.

Ford Motor and Volkswagen announced a worldwide partnership on Tuesday that's aimed at saving the two companies millions on development of pickup trucks, vans and transit vehicles, with an eye toward working together in the future on self-driving and electric cars. Under the alliance, each company will design and produce cars for the other. In Europe, Volkswagen will begin to sell Ford-produced medium pickups and commercial vans by 2022, and Volkswagen will develop a city-oriented van for Ford that would arrive by 2023. Each company would enjoy the flexibility to brand and market the new vehicles according to its own strategies, executives said. The partnership is not a merger and will not involve either company taking an ownership stake in the other.

Autonomous transport still seems like science fiction: we know it is bound to come eventually, yet it is difficult to imagine in our daily lives. But self-driving cars are becoming a reality rapidly and this month Alphabet (Google) took us a step closer to that future. Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous car division, launched a fully self-driving car service in Phoenix, Arizona. For about the same price as an Uber, you can log-on to the Waymo One app and get picked up by a self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan. Waymo has a substantial lead in autonomous driving.

Amputees and others with accessibility needs might soon have an easier time hopping into cars. Jaguar Land Rover has created a'mobility door' that uses a mix of current keyless entry tech and motion sensors to automatically open when you approach. You might only have to swing in when you're ready to drive. You can press buttons both overhead and on the infotainment system to open or close doors, and there's radar to prevent the door from smacking another car or a lamp post. The company is currently testing the door on a modified Range Rover Sport with athlete and former commando Mark Ormrod (above) giving it a full shakedown.

A new report from Navigant Research includes the chart shown below, ranking various teams on the race to robocar deployment. It's causing lots of press headlines about how Ford is the top company and companies like Google and Uber are far behind. I elected not to buy the $3,800 report, but based on the summary I believe their conclusions are ill founded to say the least. This ordering smacks of old-world car industry thinking. Saying that Ford and GM are ahead of Waymo/Google is like saying that Foxconn is ahead of Google or Apple in the smartphone market.

CES has turned into the first car show of the year, with major automakers choosing to show off upcoming features in Las Vegas. Microsoft wants to help make cars more intelligent, and it unveiled a new suite of services Thursday to do so. The Connected Vehicle Platform brings together a smorgasbord of services from Microsoft, including Azure IoT Hub, Cortana Intelligence Suite, Microsoft Dynamics and many others. In addition, Office 365, Skype for Business and Cortana can be integrated with the platform. Microsoft frequently packages cloud services as suites, then markets them for kick-starting particular applications.

Honda, SoftBank want to make cars your new best friends TOKYO -- Honda Motor and SoftBank Group announced a research collaboration Thursday on the use of artificial intelligence in cars, with a goal of creating vehicles that are more than just a machine for transporting people from point A to point B. The two Japanese companies aim to give cars the ability to read the moods and learn the preferences of drivers, not only through cameras and sensors but also by conversing with them. Honda and SoftBank envision the car as less of a tool and more like a member of the family. SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son invited Honda R&D President and CEO Yoshiyuki Matsumoto on stage Thursday at an event for corporate customers in a hotel here.