Google and the Uber ride-hailing service are in advanced talks to launch a new cloud-based technology that will use artificial intelligence to build “machine learning” tools that will allow it to identify and track people in real-time, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Uber said it was working with Google on the project, which is expected to begin early next year, the newspaper said.
Google and other companies are looking for ways to make data more open and to make it easier for people to understand data in a way that’s useful and easy to understand.
The technology could ultimately allow Uber to track and identify customers and drivers based on information about their physical locations, their social profiles, the time of day and more.
The company said it expects to begin using the technology by 2019.
Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Google has also been working on a system for making artificial intelligence more accurate.
The Alphabet-owned tech giant said in a filing last year that it would build artificial intelligence software that could help improve Uber’s automated vehicles, among other things.
Google also is working on developing its own autonomous vehicle technology, according to Bloomberg.