This week in the tasting room, I talked with some people who are amazed that we write the Shrub Report each week even during our long hours of harvest. Then the question arose, "Do we use AI (artificial intelligence) to do any of the writing for us?" I think we can all agree that there is no "AI" writing this, and in fact an argument could be made that there is actually no "I" in this writing either.
But it brought up a conversation that I had with our eldest daughter, Hanna, just a couple of weeks ago. The discussion started with AI being used in the medical industry and drifted (quickly) to AI being used in the wine industry. Which then lead to talking about how some research projects are showing that the younger generation (Gen Z) can spot AI-generated content and pictures much more easily than say...older generations (of which I fall in!).
Currently, the AI influence in the wine industry is more in the marketing side than the actual winemaking side. (I told Hanna that I didn't see AI integrating into the actual winemaking, but she pointed out that I wasn't thinking outside the box enough. Some day, AI will be able to design wines for certain palates (individuals), once the interface of smell and taste works into a computer. AI does it with art already (like draw me a Picasso), which is also subjective like wine!) Both she and I are worried of the impacts.
However, wineries using AI to generate their marketing material will (in my mind) compete directly with the authenticity of their winery and wines. Using AI may save time and money, but if it isn't truly who you are, people will start to notice. And especially targeting the younger Gen Z population, it may actually backfire if they think a winery is trying to pull a fast one on them.
As for this idea of making wines specialized for particular palates, I think this will actually come to be in the future using AI. I will mourn this day as I think it will make life boring. The algorithms already know that we humans love to watch videos of fiesty cats and cute dogs, and it can supply our needs without our even asking for it. But half the fun of wine is experiencing new and exciting expressions, whether it be the vintage, the winemaker, the variety or the region. To be fed only the wine style I already expressed I liked would just make things...well...sad and boring!
I'm not saying that there isn't a place for AI to help out humanity, but I'm certainly not going to let it make my wines or even write my complaints, I mean opinions. And trust me when I tell you this. When you come into the tasting room, I will complain just like I've written here, although over a great glass of Zinfandel! Now that's being authentic!
(P.S. The artwork above was a beautiful drawing left by winetasters on our picnic tables. Yes, we do look at your doodles, games and drawings on the tables! Thank you!)