ChatGPT's Cocktail Recipes Are 'Actually Very, Very Good' - The Creative Synthesis of AI in Mixology
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been revolutionary in various fields, but how efficient it is in accomplishing mundane tasks like grocery shopping is debatable. However, when it comes to creating cocktails, ChatGPT, an AI-based program, has proved its worth. It might not be good at gathering information from random websites, but it has shown its creative synthesis skills when given cocktail ingredients to suggest a drink recipe.
ChatGPT is a large language model trained on vast chunks of the internet to identify the relationships between words to generate creative content. It picks up on associations between words and supplies both familiar and innovative combinations, making it useful in creating mixed drinks. Unlike humans who mix and remix things to create art, chatbots like ChatGPT lean on existing materials to create content. However, they sometimes throw up suggestions that are either disgusting or inappropriate, leading to criticism that large language models are "stochastic parrots"- able to piece together words but ignorant of meanings.
However, ChatGPT has proved itself in mixology, whereby it synthesizes words in a novel way, resulting in ingenious cocktail recipes. In Axelrad, a beer garden in Houston, ChatGPT's cocktail recipes went head to head with those of human mixologists, and it emerged as a tie. The bar ran similar competitions four times, and ChatGPT's remake of Axelrad's signature Blackberry Bramble Jam won against the original.
Restaurant and bar owners like Lui Fernandes attest to ChatGPT's usefulness in creating cocktail recipes that are "actually very, very good," although they might require adjustments in unconventional ingredients. While the program may not create a wrong cocktail, it may suggest less likely options that might be disgusting. Cocktail recipes are more of art than specific drink recipes, and ChatGPT's creative synthesis has played a crucial role in finding unexpected solutions.
However, the technology is inherently restricted and leans on existing material for generating content. It cannot achieve transformational creativity, where new, inconceivable ideas are made true. Therefore, while ChatGPT's creative synthesis can help explore our creativity, it also poses a risk of flattening our creativity.
