IBM's Watson Learns to Cook from Bon Appetit Magazine

IBM's artificial intelligence program Watson has been training to be a doctor over the last few years, applying its machine learning skills to genetics and cancer. But apparently the AI likes to cook in its spare time. In a just-announced collaboration with Bon Appetit, Watson is using the 9000 or so recipes in the magazine's database to generate new recipes based on available ingredients and a suggested cuisine style. The AI uses both the magazine's archive and its own database of flavor compounds to determine what ingredients will go well together, and comes up with surprising new combinations. For more on how this works, check out the IEEE Spectrum article about IBM's cooking initiative for Watson from last year's special issue on food and technology.