I know I'm technically on hiatus, but we'll go ahead and say that's a recipe hiatus, which is in part because I tend to eat just shy of awfully while working on finals. But this blog is about more than just recipes: it's also about reviews, food news, food science, and interesting developments in the world of food. And I couldn't not post about Chef Watson.
Watson, as you may know, is an IBM-designed Artificial Intelligence computer system. Watson has been on Jeopardy, has solved countless problems, and uses the combination of the power of the internet, massive computing power, and access to data systems, combined with the ability to observe and interpret that data, to learn the way that humans do (or at least a complex model designed to simulate that process).
And last week, in conjunction with the Institute of Culinary Education, Watson released a cookbook. Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson is the joint effort of Watson's ability to learn and problem-solve, combined with the human knowledge of chefs from the ICE, to test the ability of the process to solve problems in ways that humans alone may not have considered. Watson, given input on the recipe to create, generated an ingredient list, and the ICE chefs attempted to turn the ingredient list into a cohesive dish.
The human element here is important. While I see vast potential for the role of AI in problem-solving for engineering, medicine, and other hard-science based processes, a machine might be able to understand flavor pairings, but the aspect of turning "list of flavors" into "recipe" requires imagination and love. Until you can create an AI that dreams (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, anyone?), that element will inherently be lacking in problem-solving, which is part of why IBM designs Watson's projects to function in conjunction with the human element.
As for reviews of the cookbook? Early reviews are mixed. Many praise the innovation of the process, while others point to failures to either take an ingredient list and get the recipe right, or to create a well-balanced ingredient list in the first place. Others praise the inventive rethinking of dishes, like an Indian-inspired paella, which transcend the traditional boundaries of food cultures. In all? It seems like the reviews consistent with many cookbooks -- every one has its all-star dishes and a couple duds.
What does this say about the future of AI or the future of food? In terms of food, I think Chef Watson's recipes may help chefs rethink traditional pairings, just by generating a new way of thinking about flavors, but I'm not sure AI-generated recipes will ever transcend the human element of lovingly crafting a recipe. As for AI? I'd say the future looks delicious.
No comments:
Post a Comment