Is AI The Future Of Perfume? IBM Is Betting On It.

The creation of a perfume is often treated as a bespoke art. The French pride themselves on centuries in the olfactory business, and professional scent masters — often referred to as “noses” — spend decades learning the craft, apprenticing under masters. Giant cosmetic companies such as Coty and Estée Lauder write huge checks to storied fragrance agencies, which will employ meticulous perfume chemists, scrupulous in the art of aromachology. A common theme here is that the skill of developing a fragrance is extremely valuable — and extremely human. Scent is, after all, the sense that science says has the strongest ability to evoke memories, or trigger emotions and moods. Now IBM is attempting to turn the traditional model on its head by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to develop scents. Read more at Vox.