Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Or You Could Have A Simple Recipe Database With A Natural Language/Keyword Query

"AI" is being applied to problems that computers are already good at. You don't need a spicy chatbot that suggests deadly things and requires a fusion reactor powered computer to make a recipe lookup program. A simple database will do! 
Many companies have advertised a feature in their newer phones that lets users utilize AI as a recipe generator assistant. In the Apple Intelligence demo, a user asks Siri for a dinner party meal plan with ingredients they have, and the AI returns a list of recipes using those ingredients. While that seems convenient, most of the press up to this point about the relationship between AI and cooking has been negative
Your 1997 computer could do this! We have all been collectively pretending these things are somehow "smart" but they aren't! A computer that tells me 2+2=4 and not 5, and one which consults a database to spit out a walnut-kale pesto recipe from a real chef instead of consulting internet sludge which suggests adding ammonia, is "smart" in the way we expect from computers!