Meet the EV Truck That Costs $24,950

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00] Many companies are struggling to scale their AI deployments or even move them past the pilot stage. Often the problem isn't technology, but organizational misalignment around goals, processes, and incentives. At the break, join Caroline Roach, Senior Partner IBM Consulting, to learn why.

[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_04] Hey TNB listeners, have you ever seen a post on social media that you thought was real, only to later realize it was AI generated? We want to hear from you. What did you see? Why did you believe it? How did you feel afterwards? Shoot us an email to tnb at wsj.com or leave us a voicemail at 212-416-2236. That's 212-416-2236.

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_04] Or if you're a listener on Spotify, drop us a comment in this episode. You may hear yourself on the show, and we may reach out to hear more about your experience. We hope to hear from you. Now on to the show.

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_03] Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Friday, June 26th. I'm Belle Lin, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute. AI doctors might be considered a stretch now, but they may not be so far off. Utah is experimenting with using AI chatbots to refill prescriptions, but some doctors aren't so happy about it. We're diving into what this pilot program could mean for the future of AI in healthcare.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_03] Then, cheaper cars are on everyone's mind. But what about an all-electric pickup truck with hand-crank windows and no radio? That's the bet one startup is making. We take a look at the new truck and the question of if car buyers will be along for the ride. But first, the battle over AI doctors is here, and Utah is at the front line.

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_03] The state recently kicked off a pilot program that has set off a wide range of reactions from actual doctors, many of whom are displeased. And what's happening in Utah is just one sign of what's to come, as many other states consider bills that could block or help enable AI acting like licensed physicians. WSJ reporter Anna Wildey-Matthews is here to tell us more.

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_03] So, Anna, can you quickly walk us through this pilot program and what it entails?

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_05] So the pilot program in Utah launched in January. And the idea behind it is that technology from a company called Doctronic, sort of AI-powered technology tool, will be able to renew prescriptions by itself for patients who live in Utah who want their prescriptions renewed. Right now, it's not in that phase yet. Right now, each prescription that the technology renews still gets reviewed by a human physician

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_05] before it goes to the pharmacy. But in later phases, the idea is for the AI to be able to do that on its own.

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_03] There were some Doctronic studies released by the state of Utah last month. Could you tell us a little bit more about what the results showed?

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_05] They didn't actually reveal how many patients have gone through the process yet. But what they said is that the AI system approved 72% of the prescription renewal requests. The rest of the time, it didn't approve them and escalated it to a doctor because there was maybe missing information, like a lab test or something. For the prescriptions that the AI did suggest be renewed, the doctors who were reviewing it agreed with that recommendation 91% of the time.

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_05] And in the other 9%, they said more information was needed. In that 9% of cases, a second doctor looked at that. And in the end, what they said is 3% overall of the AI prescription renewal approvals were rejected by both of the physicians.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_03] And some doctors are pretty unhappy about this program. Why are they not satisfied with the idea that AI could be used to refill prescriptions?

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_05] Well, the state's medical board has pushed back on the project. They actually called for it to be suspended at one point. And members of the board who I talked to and other doctors as well expressed concern that really renewing prescriptions seems like it's simple, but it's actually not. And it's really a pretty important job that doctors do. And they want more information about how the technology works and what is the evidence that it's safe and it's effective.

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_05] And they're concerned, they say, about the safety of patients.

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_03] Besides in Utah, where else has there been pushback against AI acting as a physician?

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_05] There have been bills introduced in a couple of different states. Idaho is one of them that would create a new type of clinical license that AI technologies could get to perform some healthcare-related functions. On the other side, in other states, there have been bills introduced that would ban AI from doing any job that is reserved for a licensed physician. So that's starting to play out.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_05] I did talk to national voices, such as the CEO of the American Medical Association, who said that the AMA is really strongly opposed to AI being allowed to do the work of a doctor on its own, autonomously.

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_03] So on the flip side, there's also been support for AI acting as a doctor. Where is that happening?

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_05] Well, in Utah, this pilot project is happening in sort of a special regulatory sandbox. And what the state officials I spoke to said is that the idea here is to find ways to safely see how these technologies work and if they can be helpful and if they can do things like improve patients' access to prescriptions, make it easier for patients, if they can reduce costs. So they say this is a limited pilot with a lot of safeguards. And the idea is to see if this technology can work.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_03] That was WSJ reporter Anna Wildey-Matthews. Would you want to be seen by an AI doctor? If you're a listener on Spotify, leave us a comment with your thoughts. Coming up, a pickup truck selling for under $25,000 sounds pretty great. But what exactly are the specs and the shortcuts? That's after the break.

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_00] Delivering real business results with AI starts with organizational alignment, says Caroline Roach, senior partner, IBM Consulting.

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_02] You need to understand what problem you're solving, really commit yourself to it, and then be clear on how you're going to change the way you work to deliver those outcomes with AI as a tool, but not the only tool.

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_00] If deployments aren't optimized to how work gets executed, ROI can suffer as programs stall and adoption lags.

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_02] Alignment is difficult to achieve because people are rushing to a solution without first defining the problem.

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_03] The Michigan-based startup Slate Auto, which is backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is racing to begin production on its first model later this year. It's a new, compact, affordable pickup truck, and it's unlike anything on the market right now. But in the drive to get this vehicle on the road, Slate has encountered a range of issues and challenges and has had to make trade-offs in the features that its truck offers.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_03] And it's not yet clear whether the truck will be a hit with car buyers. Here to discuss the truck's design, price, and what it could mean for the direction of the car industry is WSJ reporter Ryan Felton. So Ryan, describe for us the truck that Slate Auto has coming out later this year.

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_01] Yeah, it's like nothing that's on the market right now. It's a two-seat, two-door pickup truck. So it's very compact, which there really hasn't been anything like in the market for more than a decade. And the other sort of interesting leg is it's all electric, which is coming at a time when electric vehicle cars have taken a hit in the U.S.

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_01] But there's this very unique aspect of the vehicle, which is that it's built to be like a real DIY-type modular project for owners, where if they want to, they could also buy a kit to convert it into a five-seat, small, compact SUV as well.

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_03] It's interesting that there are only eight new car models that car buyers today can choose from that are under $25,000. So what kind of consumers is Slate targeting with its truck?

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_01] They're really targeting the consumer looking for something at that price point that's new. We did a story recently about how there's one million new car buyers that just aren't in the market anymore because so many vehicles have gone upstream in price. You just have this sort of serious lack of options at lower price bands.

[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_03] So to me, that begs the question of how is Slate pulling this off? How have they cut costs to reach that $25,000 price point?

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_01] They've tried to reduce complexity as much as possible and reduce the number of parts that are in the cars. And so there are things missing from the vehicle like a radio, for example. Entertainment systems or navigation systems today are pretty intricate, involved, and can do a lot. And Slate instead is saying to the car buying public, maybe you're someone who just wants to mount your phone or a tablet.

[00:09:42] [SPEAKER_01] There's other sorts of little things they've done to find savings. The one that's jumped out to everyone. There's hand crank windows. There's no paint shop that the company's operating, which is an expensive part of the business for any car maker to run. And instead, it's just offering these sorts of interesting, colorful, quirky vinyl wraps that you can put onto the car exterior instead as the way to kind of design it.

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER_03] So it hasn't necessarily been smooth sailing for Slate to get its truck into production. What are some of the challenges that it has faced getting to this point?

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_01] One of the biggest things is just the sort of cool down on the EV side. There was a lot of, for lack of a better word, momentum around EVs prior to the Trump administration with some of the policy in place to incentivize EV production and sales. And one of the big things that would have really sweetened the price on this truck was a $7,500 tax credit.

[00:10:45] [SPEAKER_01] That ended in September, which, you know, if that was still in place, would have brought the truck below $20,000. And there's the same sort of challenges that have been facing electric car makers for some time.

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_03] Are there any upsides to being a sort of underdog in the auto world and also downsides?

[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_01] One major upside is that lack of options around the affordable price point. There's a lot of new car buyers that have been pushed into the used car market who maybe it's folks who are a second car household and the second car is just for getting around town. And the downside is the car industry is incredibly tough. And many startups before have struggled to get off the ground and run.

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_01] And one thing that the company explained is when you're dealing with suppliers, they're a new company, so they're paying more than traditional automakers are for parts to go inside their car.

[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_03] What would a successful slight truck launch really mean for the EV and truck industry?

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_01] I feel like it would be a testament to the fact that there are people who want more affordable options and that they are willing to get something that kind of really just hasn't been on the market yet. What it would mean is there's just an appetite for something that's different and cheaper.

[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_01] So if they have any sort of measurable high level of sales, it would certainly bring some attention to the industry about whether more affordable options could be needed for the market.

[00:12:23] [SPEAKER_03] That was WSJ reporter Ryan Felton. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. If you're a listener on Spotify, be sure to leave us a comment. Today's show was produced by Julie Chang. Jessica Fenton and Michael Lavelle wrote our theme music. Our supervising producer is Katie Ferguson. Our development producer is Aisha El-Muslim. And Chris Sinsley is the deputy editor of audio for The Wall Street Journal.

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_03] Logging off, I'm Belle Lin, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute. We'll be back later this morning with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

[00:13:06] [SPEAKER_00] Scaling AI successfully requires more than the right technology. Here again is Caroline Roach, senior partner, IBM Consulting.

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_02] The biggest thing that we were talking about a year ago is what model to use. And the biggest thing that I'm talking about with my clients now is how do I drive change within my organization?

[00:13:24] [SPEAKER_00] Companies able to identify, correct, and then avoid misalignment will be best positioned to deliver meaningful business value from AI.

[00:13:30] [SPEAKER_02] The organizations that are the most successful set very clear targets and have several priorities that are very clear across the enterprise. The technology is really good. But if you're not changing your organizational alignment, not incentivizing your people correctly, not looking at workflows, you're not going to see real value with it.

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_00] Visit IBM.com slash think slash leadership to learn how building organizational alignment can help deliver AI deployments that scale and drive growth.

[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_05] This content was created by custom content from WSJ, a unit of The Wall Street Journal Advertising Department.