The Vergecast Teaching AI to taste and smell could help the future of product design
Oct 5, 2021
James Vincent, a Senior Reporter at The Verge specializing in AI, dives into the fascinating world of artificial intelligence and its impact on product design. He discusses how AI is being leveraged to create personalized fragrances and flavors, reshaping sensory experiences. The conversation touches on the physiological effects of scents, the challenges of teaching machines to taste and smell, and the delicate balance between AI and human creativity in artistic processes. Throughout, there are insights into ethical considerations and the future of culinary innovation.
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Personalized Perfume Machine
- ScentTronix founder Fredrick Duerinck created a perfume creation machine.
- It generates unique perfumes based on user questionnaires and cultural backgrounds.
Cultural Scent Preferences
- Scent preferences are highly cultural.
- For example, some Asian cultures dislike woody scents, impacting AI perfume design.
Fruit Fly Algorithms
- Fruit flies efficiently perform similarity searches between odors.
- Computer scientist Saket Navalkha studies this to improve algorithms for datasets.