Employee at Whistle Buoy Brewing. Right: glass of craft beer in Victoria, B.C.
With the emergence of AI bots such as ChatGPT and Microsoft's new Bing AI, employees across industries might be starting to sweat a little at the thought of a robot takeover. On the flip side, some — like the folks at Whistle Buoy Brewing — are leaning into the technology by conducting fun experiments.
Almost on a whim, the brewery in Victoria, B.C., tasked ChatGPT with creating a hazy pale ale for them.
"We were playing around with ChatGPT for our own curiosity," the Marketing Director at Whistle Buoy, Isaiah Archer, told Narcity.
"While asking it random questions, we thought, let's see what it says when we ask it to make a [fluffy and tropical] beer recipe."
Whitle Buoy Brewing Robo Beer.Whistle Buoy Brewing
When the bot spat out a recipe that "actually seemed usable," the team put it to the test (making a few tweaks to scale the recipe up to the brewery's typical batch size) to see if it was any good.
Turns out: it is.
The brewery's "Robo Beer" is selling fast and tasting great, according to Archer.
Whistle Buoy didn't stop there, either. They asked ChatGPT to write the product description and create a promotional video for the beer as well.
The brewery asked animator Ryan Steel to make adjustments to the robot-generated video because the animation wasn't where the team wanted it to be.
"As it stands right now, I do not fear an AI overthrow of the human race," Steele said.
"Introducing Robo Beer, our latest brew that was crafted with the help of artificial intelligence," the description reads. "This hazy pale ale is a masterpiece of modern brewing techniques, using a combination of pale ale malt, wheat malt, and flaked oats to create a soft, pillowy mouthfeel [...] perfect for enjoying any time of year. Whether you're a craft beer aficionado or a newcomer to the scene, our AI-generated Robo Beer is sure to impress. Give it a try and taste the future of brewing!"
As for if this is indeed a glimpse into the fate of our nation, Archer isn't convinced just yet.
"We're not saying this is the way to do things moving forward [...] the recipe wasn't anything new or innovative. Our brewers are more than capable of making great beers from their own recipes," he told Narcity. "These AI tools are useful and fascinating, but we won't be relying on them too heavily for the foreseeable future."
If you're on Vancouver Island, swing by Whistle Buoy to pick up the beer for yourself and see if ChatGPT's brew does it for you.
Narcity does not condone the overconsumption of alcohol. If you're going to drink alcohol, please do so responsibly and only if you're of legal age.
