Just this week, I was talking to my girlfriends about dinner ideas. I'd recently been sick and was out of inspiration for what to cook for myself and partner. I need to pick their brains. The three of us are each the grocery buyer and meal preparers of our household, and collectively we confessed the mental load is sometimes overwhelming. "I'm so done with dinner ideas" was the final sentiment.
It's this feeling that naturally piqued my interest when I read about AI-powered home appliances - and more broadly, what an AI-enhanced lifestyle actually looks like.
I pose the question: "what if your fridge could meal plan for you", not because this is some far off Jetsons-esque futurescape - but because your fridge can and does do this already. Provided you have one of Samsung's AI fridges of course.
This year, Samsung introduced it's AI Family Hub technology in its new refrigerators. Appliance companies have been labelling basic things like extra buttons and new coffee options as "AI advancements" for years, so it's easy to brush these new innovations off in a flurry of sensationalist fatigue. But, Family Hub is different.
I think certainly the most exciting part is that the fridge use the contents of your fridge and suggest recipes using these exact ingredients. Yes, these fridges can quite literally plan your meals for you.
So, how does it all work? The Family Hub fridges come with an external screen, internal cameras, computer technology and a corresponding phone and tablet app. The internal cameras can recognise 33 food items at the present (although undoubtedly it will be updated with more over time) and the fridge is able to record when food items are put in or taken out of the fridge. Using this tech, it then creates a list of all the items in your fridge, which you can then add use-by dates to via the app. Now that the fridge knows what ingredients you have, the AI component can intelligently search through its catalogue of recipes and suggest options based on what's in your fridge. And yes, you can add preferences and dietary requirements which the AI will take into account in its suggestions.
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The Family Hub fridges also come equipped with a voice assistant. You can it ask which ingredients are expiring soon or to add ingredients to your shopping list. Another cool feature: you can use the fridge's internal cameras to look inside your fridge while you're out of the house. At the shops and not sure if you need to buy more eggs? You can use your phone to check. That last one isn't strictly AI-powered, but as someone who regularly gets to the shops and can't remember if I need to buy oat milk, I think it's arguably one of the most helpful.
To me, this is about so much more than just a cool fridge. It opens up a broader conversation about AI and what it actually means to live in an AI-powered future.
We've heard the term "AI" over and over. AI is possibly the most overused buzzword of 2024. Every brand seemingly wants to smack an "AI-powered" label on their product regardless of its actual function. Meanwhile, the rest of us shudder every time we hear the word, wading through the existential threat of what AI means for our livelihoods.
It's understandable why people fear AI innovations, worrying that this new tech will put people like computer developers, writers and analysts out of jobs. In fact we've seen more than a few companies attempt to replace their trained professionals with AI systems like ChatGPT. But, most of us can take comfort in the disastrous outcomes that came from these decisions.
The reality is that AI is not a replacement, it's an enhancement. This is the piece that's missing in most professional conversations about AI. It shouldn't replace you, but you could and should be using it to make your processes easier. AI can add a power-boost the mundane and fiddly task we all have to complete every day. Think automatic deep-etching features, meeting transcription tools and text-suggest messaging.
Ultimately, you're still going to have to go to the grocery store, choose your food and cook it. But, if your fridge can look at the cherry tomatoes, chorizo and rocket in your fridge and let you know that you can make a one-pot pasta, it does make the whole process around household food management far more efficient – potentially less wasteful and more sustainable.
