Would you eat a meal created by a computer chef?
Not just assembled robotically, but a recipe designed and created by a ‘cognitive cooking’ algorithm?
That’s the question I put to Dan in our latest Capital and Conflict podcast, in which we discussed machine learning and the rise of intelligent machines (as well as covering all the most important financial news of the last week).
It was a great show. Anyone with a curiosity about cutting edge technology will find it particularly interesting, I hope. Listen for free here.
The reason I asked Dan about computer chefs, by the way, is because it’s something machine-learning specialists are already testing out. Last year, the IMB Watson team set up a food truck in Austin, Texas, where the food was entirely designed by a machine, then assembled by a team of people. One of the meals it’d dreamt up was an ‘Austrian Chocolate Burrito’. It seemed to be a success.
The IMB Watson project is something worth taking a look at, if you’re unfamiliar with it. A quick backstory: Watson is a highly advanced machine-learning algorithm. It’s famous for winning the US gameshow Jeopardy, against two of the top human champions.
©Press Association
But since then, that same intelligent, pattern-recognising software has been taken and adapted to specialise in all manner of things. One project is using it to help in clinical trials, another in an oncology study. It’s also being developed into a finance, manufacturing and data processing tool (although everything it does is essentially data processing).
And as I said, it’s all part of a much bigger trend developing right now focused on machine learning and intelligent machines.
I won’t go into too much detail here. But whether you’re a sceptic, or you think this is the start of something big, I think you’ll enjoy our discussion on the subject. Just follow this link to listen to our latest podcast.
Category: Investing in Technology