"drinkable Library" Coffee: taste the literary works from the coffee.

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When reading, what kind of experience would it be to have a cup of coffee on hand that matches the temperament of the work or the feeling of reading? Recently, with the help of artificial intelligence, NEC of Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. has launched a set of "drinkable libraries" with the help of joint coffee brand YANAKA. NEC's data engineers introduced more than 10, 000 literary works into artificial intelligence and mapped different attributes to the taste of coffee, such as sadness and happiness to bitterness and sweetness. The first batch of library coffee, made up of six copies, will be available in a limited edition at YANAKA Cafe from October 27, including "Human disqualification" by Tai Jai Ji and "Sanshiro", "Heart" and "I am a Cat" by Natsume Shushi. In addition to the 950 yen bag, there is also a library gift box, which sells for 2340 yen.

Here NEC uses "artificial intelligence" as a helper. Data engineers collect more than 10, 000 reviews of relevant literary works, and the data are modeled through NEC Advanced Analytics-RAPID machine learning software. Finally, the comments will be converted into the radar map of the taste index, and then yanaka will undertake the task of preparing coffee beans according to the coffee taste data.

You may wonder, how do the comments correspond to the taste of coffee beans? In fact, NEC is trying to capture the connection between taste buds and emotions and do something about it. Just as we often compare "ups and downs" to the ups and downs of life and the accompanying emotional changes, NEC envisions that similar comments mention that the taste of coffee is more bitter when the ending is sad; when you indulge in the pleasure of books, coffee corresponds to the aftertaste experience.

In other words, the cross-boundary "collision" of coffee, literature and artificial intelligence, although it is so rare that you can really get a special feeling from coffee, it is more like using "stories" to package coffee beans with various tastes. But the micro-creativity of Japanese companies should still bring some different experiences. after all, there are so many varieties of coffee beans that the taste is difficult to describe in words, if you happen to have read a book. Knowing the plot of the book and how it resonates in your heart, the taste of coffee beans can be embodied, so are you more inclined to choose it?

In terms of the connection between artificial intelligence and taste buds, we have also recently discovered the application of AI wine-making. Intelligent Layer teamed up with Oxford machine learning experts to create the AI beer brand called IntelligentX, which is different from NEC's review data on existing books. IntelligentX relies on feedback from drinkers to optimize algorithms to generate new brewing schemes that are more in line with drinkers' preferences.

For example, you buy a light beer from IntelligentX, then go to the web link printed on the bottle and jump to the Facebook Messenger app to talk to the chatbot, who asks questions about your preference for beer, such as the extent to which you accept the aroma of hops, and asks you what you think of the quality of the beer you are drinking. The data collected will be used to improve the brewing scheme of the corresponding beer.

Another advantage of machine brewing is that they are "bolder" than what humans usually do. IntelligentX's artificial intelligence algorithm adds 1000 "wildcard" components, such as grapefruit, from which AI randomly adds one to the wine-making scheme to keep the scheme unique and innovative. Of course, not all drinkers' suggestions are worth considering, and the brewery will still make the final check to screen the solutions given by the artificial intelligence system.

There is already a range of IntelligentX beers, including Black AI, Golden AI, Pale AI and Amber AI, sold in London bars and shops.

Although we talk more about AI or weak artificial intelligence, telling AI-related business stories, it is hard to escape the suspicion of trying to attract attention, and the feasibility of practical application varies. But to some extent, technological progress leads to people's thinking and exploration of micro-innovation or cross-border, which may have more important significance value.