Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

We all know the robot takeover is imminent, right? And while robots can be incredibly creepy (or adorable in the case of WALL-E), there are some tasks that they are just going to be better at: chess, exploring other planets, and various household chores. But we are going to have to draw the line somewhere, and my line is draw at food and wine-tasting.

"Spanish scientists say they have developed a portable 'electronic tongue' that can rapidly identify a wine's vintage and grape variety. Designed to maintain quality control in the vineyard, the device consists of six sensors that detect substances characteristic of a certain wine variety, the researchers said. Components such as acid, sugar and alcohol can be measured and from those parameters it can determine the age and variety of the wine." United Press International

The electric tongue or the e-tongue is nothing new. The Washington Post wrote an article earlier this year about how the newest e-tongue and e-nose technologies are rivaling the human physical counterparts. The USDA is even experimenting with robot meat tasters to grade steaks.

Robots may never be able to produce the elegant, ridiculous prose of the nation's top wine writers, like Robert Parker's "the wine is like a towering skyscraper in the mouth". But, one has to question whether giving robots a sense of taste really works to our advantage. For your consideration:

"When a reporter's hand was placed against the robot's taste sensor, it was identified as prosciutto. A cameraman was mistaken for bacon." MSNBC

I guess you are what you eat?

Marta Strickland