Using AI to create new fragrances
Skilled perfumers bring art and science together to design new fragrances, a talent that takes ten or more years to develop. Crafting a fragrance that leaves an impression is one of the most important components a consumer considers when forming a positive or negative opinion about everyday products like laundry detergent, deodorant, air freshener and, of course, cologne and perfume. What if artificial intelligence (AI) could learn from these professionals to augment the process of developing new fragrances or identify completely novel creative pathways? With this in mind, my team at IBM Research, together with Symrise, one of the top global producers of flavors and fragrances, created an AI system that can learn about formulas, raw materials, historical success data and industry trends.