Artificial Intelligence and all that

But we have to understand one thing - AI is nothing more than a mammoth encyclopaedia, dictionary and thesaurus of everything ever published on the Internet.

It just scoops up all that has ever appeared in the public domain, including our Facebook posts and tweets, scientific papers and material from every publication that has ever been uploaded.

Nothing escapes it, but rarely are sources attributed. All well and good, but what is its place in the realm of food and drink? Only as a reference library.

Unlike other tasks it can perform amazingly well, it has no taste and no sight, so while it can read the page of a book, it cannot reproduce, much less judge, the texture of a dish or the bouquet of a wine. And even though its great attribute is that it can learn at terrifying speed, taste is beyond it.

Ditto diets. If two people with the same dietary ambitions ask it to suggest a diet, they will get different suggestions.

Nobody controls AI. It is the Wild West with no complaints . Can we rely on it? No way, but it does depend on what you ask it to do.

If we want to know how to open a bottle of wine which, because of its age, is sure to need a butler's friend to remove the stopper, it will perform, but enquire whether a bottle of Tondonia 1982 will still be drinkable, it will suggest you try it before deciding.

AI always errs on the safe side and is generally inconclusive in its responses.