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Comment by misterderpie | original | Claude Code and Codex reverse engineered my 1994 Jeep's ECU over a $3 Arduino [video]
[−]misterderpie · 2026-11-15 Sun 16:05 UTC · link
LLMs end up changing the consumer market not the way big corporations would like to. It is impressive to see that we'll be able to give ownership back to the customer, or enable others to do so. Very nice demonstration.
[−]close04 · 2026-11-15 Sun 16:16 UTC · link
Wait until those big corporations start using LLMs to learn how to lock things down even further, or implement checks that disable your car when it detects alterations to the software “for safety reasons”, or go after drivers who do these things for loss of revenue, etc. A ‘94 Jeep will be fair game but a new car might not be.
[−]SV_BubbleTime · 2026-11-15 Sun 16:22 UTC · link
New cars already have it.

Lockstep processors, hardware security modules with immutable unreadable keys, and PKI keys that the mfg holds the private for that can only be accessed on their online services.

It’s locked down now and this started in 2018 or so. It’s just worse now.

To automotive, there is really still no right to repair. They get around it by selling “3 day passes” to their service, but with their hardware and at their prices.

They’re all moving the Tesla system of more centralized brain systems which will be even more protected.

[−]dawnerd · 2026-11-15 Sun 16:24 UTC · link
Which also has the real nifty benefit of a RRS via subscriptions!
[−]misterderpie · 2026-11-15 Sun 16:28 UTC · link
Sad to hear. I am not a car owner, but lived in the EU for most of my life. The consumer market owes quite some consumer rights to the EU, so I guess all we can do is hope that they'll eventually crack down on these measurements again.
[−]abletonlive · 2026-11-15 Sun 17:56 UTC · link
> The consumer market owes quite some consumer rights to the EU

Let's be clear that it's just incentives. If the EU economy was based on creating companies and new products there would not be as many incentives for consumer "rights" there.

[−]PorciiVorbesc · 2026-11-15 Sun 19:01 UTC · link
> The consumer market owes quite some consumer rights to the EU

Not for car owners/consumers in the EU. Auto makers and dealers get away with a lot of shady shit fucking over their customers in the EU all the time.

Like sibling said, there are incentives to regulate stuff that has no impact on EU businesses, shit like USB-C or replaceable batteries, but they won't touch the auto industry to mandate easier repairs and less lock-downs.

[−]dns_snek · 2026-11-15 Sun 16:25 UTC · link
They've been doing that for a decade. I think overall the balance will shift in our favor but Big AI labs will do everything they can to try and stop us.

Claude is quick to refuse to help with reverse engineering and I suspect it's only going to get worse over time.

[−]close04 · 2026-11-15 Sun 16:36 UTC · link
Yes, they have been on that road for years. Tesla showed everyone the way with things like always-on connectivity or not being able to change a headlight with another original one without Tesla’s blessing. What I meant is that whatever I can do with an LLM they can do more. And if they can invoke “safety” that'll keep the law on their side for some time.

As far as I can tell no manufacturer disables the car yet when detecting modifications, or take drivers to court for doing it, yet.

[−]CamperBob2 · 2026-11-15 Sun 17:07 UTC · link
They are now required to do just that, if they want to sell to the EU market. When you hear the term "cybersecurity," the real subject is the protection of revenue streams from attack by end users.
[−]damowangcy · 2026-11-15 Sun 17:15 UTC · link
>big corporations start using LLMs to learn how to lock things down even further

Why would they? They just need to fund lobbyist to make it illegal for any AI to reverse engineer anything copyrighted or with IP.

Sure, you can use open source AI to do it but not everyone will/can do it.

So, they don't need to ban everyone, they just need to make sure the final code isn't available freely on GitHub. That would minimize the damage, it's not a perfect solution but more than enough to protect the company.

[−]spockz · 2026-11-15 Sun 17:35 UTC · link
Ah the irony. (AI being trained illegaly on copyrighted content.)
[−]lubujackson · 2026-11-15 Sun 17:24 UTC · link
It's the web all over again. We have maybe 5 years of freedom before the walls close in around us, so take advantage of the Wild West while you can.
[−]baby_souffle · 2026-11-15 Sun 18:02 UTC · link
> We have maybe 5 years of freedom before the walls close in around us, so take advantage of the Wild West while you can.

I suspect you're right BUT still maintain a bit of optimism. We miiiight end up in a future where most hardware comes with an OK-ish app/interface and some sort of LLM-Friendly technical documentation so if you don't like $aspect of the device, you're free to roll your own after indemnifying the manufacturer via something like an eFuse.

or maybe I really am naive :(

[−]testtestmetest · 2026-11-15 Sun 18:31 UTC · link
Lmao if a company starts shipping llm documentation for its products so you can tamper with them, you should assume youve woken up in a parallel universe.

I think most people on here fail to realize the demand to customize and build things hasnt gone up. Just because llms exist now doesnt mean normies all of a sudden want to start getting into programming, they dont care.

The only number thats gone up is people who were slightly interested in programming/CS before but were too undisciplined to learn things themselves. Llms are great for those lazy people.

[−]theshrike79 · 2026-11-15 Sun 18:17 UTC · link
I’ve said this for years: Use the VC-funded monthly quota AI to build tools and applications for yourself or small groups. Don’t use a cloud AI itself as the engine of your application.

Even if AI goes away tomorrow, the tools will still exist.

[−]testtestmetest · 2026-11-15 Sun 18:34 UTC · link
No they wwont, they'll never be maintained. Theyll decay with their vibes. People who vibe code whole swaths of software are'nt capable of caring enough to maintain it. Llms mostly make smart people lazy and or stupid.