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robot cooking

Economists envision humans equally rational, cost-do good-maximizing individuals, a position which sometimes makes it difficult to empathise the insane dietary choices many people make. Humanity's legendary dietary mistakes — which include a male monarch of England dying from eating an excess of Lamprey, a creature so ugly it's listen boggling that anyone could detect the courage to consume more than one — are putting the unabridged earth at risk.

Rarely has been there so firm a consensus on what the problem is, and and so little motivation, political or otherwise, to practise something nigh information technology. Nutritionists everywhere agree that the developed world, and increasing the developing world besides, consumes far too many animal products and refined sugars. Only this penchant for creature flesh and greasy, sugary, fried foods isn't only endangering the people consuming them. The greenhouse gases resulting from the production of such also happen to be one of the leading causes of global warming. Information technology's double jeopardy, both for humanity and the environment.

While the idea of legislating nutrition volition catch in more than ane person'due south gorge, thankfully there is an alternative, and it'due south called the smart diet revolution. What exactly the smart diet revolution constitutes is open to fence, but nosotros will define it here as the outsourcing of dietary choices to artificial intelligence — be it smart refrigerators that choose menus for us, or nutrition apps and virtual assistants, all of which volition increasingly play a commanding function in what we "cull" to consume.

One may inquire why is all this necessary: Tin can't nosotros only follow some simple rules of thumb set up out in things like the food pyramid and admonitions to "consume your greens"? Information technology doesn't seem similar it. 1 of the many results stemming from the decoding of the homo genome is that coming up with an ideal diet for a person is vastly more complicated than nosotros previously imagined. In truth, what is ideal for 1 person may be entirely toxic to another, depending on any number of genetic mutations. As we gradually unravel what these mutations are and how they interact with each other, we will brainstorm creating personalized diets tailored directly to a person's genome.

gene diet interaction

An case of the complexity behind gene nutrition interactions, taking from a research newspaper on the topic.

Unfortunately, the tangled spider web that constitutes gene diet interactions is so massively circuitous to be beyond human agreement when it comes to choosing what entree to order at a eatery. Repeatedly studies accept demonstrated that the human brain has a kind of functional constraint congenital into information technology that makes it difficult for a person to juggle more seven variables at a fourth dimension. (Information technology's for this reason that the number of digits used for phone numbers was capped at 7.) When it comes to personalized diets based on genetic mutations, at that place are literally hundreds of mutations at play. For this reason, machine forms of intelligence are uniquely suited for crafting personalized genome-based diets. Already a host of technologies are sprouting up to assistance us start understanding how our genetic code influences nutrition.

Nutrition software

Software solutions that tailor personalized genetic diets to a person are already out in the wild. One of the leaders in this field is the company Pathway Genomics. They offer a diversity of direct-to-consumer genetic testing packages, including the PathwayFit report, which purports to analyze a host of mutations related to how a person processes sugars, fats, nutrients, and vitamins based on specific genetic mutations. However, at a sticker price of $599, this is probably outside the range of most people's budgets. A more affordable solution comes in the forms of smartphone apps like Dna Dr., which apply the raw genetic data from one's 23andMe AncestryDNA or FamilyTreeDNA written report to analyze mutations related to diet. Then there are apps that use bogus intelligence to assistance us make better dietary choices like Google's Im2Calories, which uses machine learning and image recognition to estimate how many calories are in a plate of nutrient based upon a picture of it taken from a person's smartphone. But as nosotros volition meet, this is only the tip of the iceberg in how artificial intelligence is at work in irresolute diets.

Food product

Another way artificial intelligence is changing diet is in the production of food itself. One case of this is a Chilean concern, called NotCo, which employs cutting-edge science to modify the composition of food, making it both healthier for people and the surroundings. Admitting that humans are not likely to lose their taste for meat anytime before long, the visitor has set about learning how to replicate the gustation and texture of meat with culling ingredients. While this may smack of heresy to died-in-the-wool meat eaters, in that location is no denying the environmental and wellness benefits that would accrue with the success of their venture.

Previous attempts of this sort have met with mixed with results. I can personally attest to the convincing nature of meat substitutes like MorningStar Farms Grillers Prime number Veggie Burgers, simply examples of lab-grown meat suggest it still has some fashion to go earlier it could pass as the real matter. Just where NotCo differs from the competition is how information technology's going about creating meat substitutes. The proper noun of its undercover sauce is Giuseppe, which refers not to a person or an ingredient, but an artificial intelligence model the visitor created for understanding food at a molecular level. Giuseppe uses deep learning, a subtype of machine learning, to "r eplicate the taste, texture and fifty-fifty smell of creature-based products by copying their molecular structure." While I have however to sample any of Giuseppe's creations, there'south every reason to believe the results will exist truly groundbreaking, both for human sense of taste buds and the environment.

Kitchen technology

The third wave of smart nutrition is taking identify in kitchens themselves. This is best exemplified by something that has come to exist known every bit the smart refrigerator. While prototypes have been floating effectually in R&D labs for a long time, 2016 is the yr nosotros could finally see the smart refrigerator out in the wild. Samsung is making a monumental push to bring their Family Hub smart refrigerator into the mainstream, and while dietary improvements will initially take 2nd place to entertainment features, at that place are some clear sight lines for improvement in both directions.

The Samsung Family unit Hub Fridge comes armed with a massive 21-inch touch screen and Tizen operating system. It uses cameras strategically positioned throughout the interior of the fridge to keep an eye on how long that moldering jar of mayonnaise has been camping ground out behind the milk cartons. It also comes equipped with software for choosing recipes and the power to seamlessly order ingredients from online retailers.

smart refridgerator

The Samsung Smart Refrigerator in all its chrome glory.

The biggest strides to be taken in the smart nutrition revolution are likely to come with the merger of all three technologies discussed in a higher place. It remains to be seen which concepts succeed with consumers and which ones don't. Just it's safe to say that when our smart refrigerators are loaded with apps possessing cognition of unique genomes, and suggest recipes accordingly, made from environmentally sustainable ingredients called by an artificial intelligence algorithm, that's when the smart nutrition revolution volition have finally taken concur. All the components of such a system already exist. It'southward probably just a matter of time before they begin linking up, delivering both better outcomes for people and the environment.

Nosotros're covering future medical technology all this week; read the rest of our Medical Tech Calendar week stories for more than. And be sure to bank check out our ExtremeTech Explains series for more in-depth coverage of today'due south hottest tech topics.