Artificial Intelligence: Not Exactly MasterChef Material Yet!

“AI Is a Lousy Chef”

“AI isn’t usually regarded as the best pathway to creativity or anything stomach-related, but researchers at Facebook AI have developed an AI model designed to create, among other things, unique—albeit not always appetizing—new cooking recipes.”

We’re in an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is trying to permeate every aspect of our lives. Why not wade into the culinary world too, right? So, in comes Facebook AI with a twist, swinging its experimental ladle, aiming to entice our taste buds with its algorithmic recipe generator known as ‘Inverse Cooking.’ What could possibly go wrong with that?

Inverse Cooking and its close relative, Recipe1M+, have exhibited a charming knack for creativity. Yet, they tend to compose recipes that evoke raised brows, uneasy laughs, and polite affirmations like, ‘Uh, no thanks. I just ate.’ Some gems include the ‘Completely Meat Chocolate Pie’ and ‘Strawberry Curry’—a sweet, tangy, and hot delight?

One might argue that Facebook’s AI is the Picasso of the culinary industry—it’s abstract, it’s random, and often times, it’s beyond comprehension. At the heart of this brave venture is an attempt to improvise on existing recipes or, in some cases, create totally unexpected combinations.

The inner workings of the system lay in an intricate process of data collection, analysis, and prediction. The AI is fed millions, literally millions, of recipes which it uses to learn. From there, it tests its culinary prowess by imagining outlandish combinations. It’s no Gordon Ramsay, but it does strive to be innovative.

To give credit where it’s due, not all of AI’s culinary expeditions result in questionable soups, desserts, or abstract food art. Sometimes, the AI comes up with reasonable and potentially tasty dishes like the splendid ‘Caramelized Bacon Spinach Salad.’

All said and done, as much as we condescendingly smirk at Facebook’s ‘Dishgen’, it symbolizes an audacious stride towards integrating AI with other non-conventional fields. Whether or not we’re ready to swap our professional chefs with AI in the near future is yet to be seen. But for now, the idea of a self-learning, recipe-generating AI does serve a side dish of intrigue and humor.

Read the original article here: https://www.wired.com/story/dishgen-ai-recipes-tested/