Stay current on NVIDIA drivers - build the automation, and do not ship RLC-AI again without the latest drivers

Situation

Greg flagged in #distinguished-leaders that the NVIDIA contract obliges CIQ to distribute the latest drivers within 30 days of release, and that CIQ has drifted. Peter took it to Nathan Blackham and Justin Haynes in their group DM the next morning, told both that he had not had the 30-day obligation in his head either, and asked them to put some sort of process in place to stay current. Nathan opened ENGD-839 for the automation; Peter told him to slot it right around where the next RLC-AI drop lands. Separately he told Product the gate plainly: it makes no sense to put out RLC-AI again without updating to the latest drivers at the very least.

Reasoning

The value NVIDIA gives CIQ is being able to point at Rocky and say the best experience is there, and NVIDIA has told CIQ directly they cannot say that while CIQ is months behind on drivers. So the exposure is not the contract clause, it is the partner story that the contract clause protects. Peter deliberately did not specify what staying current means technically - he said smarter people than him should determine exactly what it means - and confined himself to the outcome and the release gate, leaving the mechanism to Nathan and Justin.

Additional Context

This is the same ask Peter then routed through the product board rather than absorbing as recurring engineering work. Brady Dibble had already been pushing on driver currency and has automation that posts to Slack when drivers land, which nobody was acting on. The automation ticket now shows in the TPS report under Core Distro as parking lot at 0 percent confidence, which is the visible consequence of routing it to Product rather than assigning it.

Observed Evidence

Peter to Nathan and Justin: I did not have that in my head, so I am not surprised if you do not. But we should find a way to get some sort of process in place to stay current. / Peter on what it means: I think so. But smarter people than me should determine exactly what it means. From NVIDIA side, they want to be able to point to Rocky and say the best experience is there, and they are flagging to us that they cannot do that if we are months behind on drivers. / Peter on priority: Right around where our next RLCAI drop/functionality is - is where I would put it to start.

Matching Patterns

Confidence Breakdown

Reasoning Depth Analysis