General Motors has joined OpenAI and more than 100 organisations calling for stronger cyber defences as increasingly capable AI systems raise the prospect of faster and more widespread attacks.
The threat extends far beyond cars.
The joint open letter, published by OpenAI, points to hospitals, water-treatment plants and the infrastructure underpinning the Internet among systems at risk.
It called on businesses, governments, technology suppliers and AI companies to strengthen authentication and access controls, fix high-risk weaknesses and put more capable AI tools in the hands of defenders.
For GM, that wider cybersecurity challenge increasingly reaches into the vehicle.
More than 4.5 million GM vehicles can receive over-the-air updates, with roughly two million more added annually.
Its next-generation centralised computing architecture arrives in 2028 with the electric Cadillac Escalade IQ, linking propulsion, steering, braking, infotainment and safety systems.
Google Gemini is also reaching connected GM cars, with around four million newer Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC vehicles in the US identified as eligible.
GM said it continues to invest in cybersecurity teams, tools and industry partnerships. It also warns that stolen account credentials can expose remote vehicle controls and recommends multi-factor authentication.
GM’s involvement also points to a wider problem for carmakers. As vehicles gain cloud services, smartphone controls, AI assistants and automated-driving functions, there are more systems to protect from intrusion.
Cybersecurity increasingly has to be designed into the car from the start.
Other signatories reinforced that broader picture.
They included banks, insurers, cloud providers and cybersecurity specialists alongside Visa and Mastercard in payments, AWS and Microsoft in connected technology, and automotive-linked semiconductor suppliers AMD, Arm, Broadcom and Micron.
Reuters said the appeal amounts to a call for a society-wide response rather than action by any single industry.
