- When Ford hired Jim Hackett as its new chief executive officer last month, he delivered a mandate: In a rapidly changing industry, the automaker no longer could afford to take a plodding approach to making decisions. Ford needed to move faster. - The company took a step in that direction Thursday, consolidating its artificial-intelligence and robotics researchers into a single new team that will explore using those technologies on a broad range of transportation projects. - The team will report to Randy Visintainer, Ford’s director of autonomous-vehicle development and controls. While self-driving vehicles will be a significant focus, they won’t be the lone one. Ford expects the researchers will evaluate artificial-intelligence applications for drones, mobility projects, and the technical requirements for entry into global markets - “I can tell you there’s so much going on in the world of advanced engineering, it’s imperative that we maintain a crystal-clear focus on the most im