AI vs Human Bartenders: The Cocktail Challenge

Eric interviews Rob Nester, creator of the hit podcast, Drinking with Robots, about the rise of artificial intelligence in the cocktail space.

This is part 1 of a two-part investigation that poses the following question: in what ways might AI transform how we create, enjoy, and perhaps even think about cocktails in the future?

In this installment, we talk about Rob's origin story, how he came up with the concept for Drinking with Robots, and the insights he has gleaned about datasets, prompt generation, and the human-AI divide over the course of the first season of the show.

Next time, we'll tackle slightly thornier questions, like whether or not LLMs possess the ability to surprise and delight a human palate, the ways in which AI can be effectively (or poorly) implemented in existing bar programs, and some of the big, philosophical questions that arise when you put computers in a position to dictate what we drink and how it tastes.