Prince William has joked that artificial intelligence could eventually replace human drivers in motorsport, as he visited Jaguar TCS Racing’s headquarters in Kidlington, Oxfordshire. The Prince of Wales, 42, quipped that 'AI drivers' might be 'much quicker' than their human counterparts, as he squeezed into the cockpit of Jaguar’s I-TYPE 7 Formula E car.
Speaking with graduates and interns at the facility, William said: 'I was joking with the team that with all the advancements in technology and everything, at what point does the driver become a weak link? Imagine you turn around and just say “let’s just get rid of the driver, we’ll put in an AI person and it’ll do it itself much quicker”. We’re probably not far off that moment, are we - not that we should be going down that route obviously.'
The 6ft 3in heir to the throne, who towers over typical race car drivers, also chatted with Jaguar driver António Félix da Costa about the car’s controls and components. He spent time in the race strategy simulation room, wearing headphones to listen to team orders, after which he joked: 'There’s a lot of attacking going on.'
William, whose youngest son Prince Louis turned eight on the day of the visit, said his three children were 'so excited' about his tour, adding that they 'love' the sport. He praised the team’s progress in Formula E, saying: 'It’s a hell of a leap you guys have made and I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do in the next 10 years.'
During the tour, William also asked about the company’s sustainability initiatives and how they 'trickle down to the road' with Jaguar’s all-electric consumer cars. Jack Lambert, head of technical integration, said the prince asked 'where do we as engineers want this to go', adding: 'That’s a really interesting question to ask because we don’t really know.'
