Would you trust a robot with your spice rack?

Pete Evans and Manu Fieldel from the Channel 7 program, My Kitchen Rules. Image: AAP

As My Kitchen Rules’ Pete and Manu would tell you, good food is an art.

But it’s also a science, IBM Research has emphatically noted.

Spice giant McCormick has partnered with IBM Research to create an artificial intelligence system designed to come up with new spice flavours.

The set of one-dish flavours will hit US shelves early this year, and McCormick plans to roll out the AI system to global operations in 14 countries.

So far, the flavours include Tuscan Chicken, Bourbon Pork Tenderloin and New Orleans sausage.

The McCormick product developers will use AI to learn and predict new flavour combinations by using information about sensory science, consumer preference and flavour palettes.

The platform, dubbed ONE, has been developed to deliver “family-favourite flavours” that can season both meat and vegetables, the company said in a release.

“McCormick’s use of artificial intelligence highlights our commitment to insight-driven innovation and the application of the most forward-looking technologies to continually enhance our products and bring new flavors to market,” said McCormick CEO Lawrence Kurzius.

“This is one of several projects in our pipeline where we’ve embraced new and emerging technologies.”

The science of flavour is not well understood, added IBM Research consumer products lead, Robin Lougee, but most know it’s a combination of smell, taste and appearance to begin with.

And scientists also generally agree that there are at least sour, sweet, salty, bitter and umami flavour sensations.

Beyond this though, there are also genetic components. For example, some people consider coriander delicious, while to others it tastes almost like soap.

These factors, combined with a commercial imperative to be the first to a new flavour, mean seasonings are a great candidate for AI tech, Lougee said.

Other unusual uses for AI

Seasonings are only the latest unexpected AI application.

Huawei’s AI technology and Emmy-award winning Lucas Cantor completed Franz Schubert’s famously unfinished Symphony No.8 earlier this month.

The composer wrote the first two movements and outlined the third, while the Huawei Mate 20 Pro mobile phone AI technology completed the melody for the third and fourth movements.

It did this by analysing the timbre, pitch and meter of Schubert’s first two movements.

The AI was also fed information about the composers who influenced Schubert, while Cantor orchestrated the piece for emotion and taught the AI about its mistakes.

These steps were added to prevent the AI from heading off into its own strange territory.

And last year, AI created an entirely new chapter of Harry Potter, after being fed JK Rowling’s earlier novels.

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