????IBM沃森與認知烹飪小組高級軟件工程師弗羅里安?皮內爾

????自從IBM的“智能”電腦系統沃森（Watson）在電視智力節目Jeopardy中戰勝了人類對手之后，IBM還想試試它到底能把智能計算的邊界推到多遠。最近IBM決定讓沃森進軍烹飪界。作為一名受過專業訓練的廚師，弗羅里安?皮內爾也是IBM的“認知烹飪”團隊的一員。皮內爾表示：“我們之所以把重點放在美食上，是因為美食是大家都關心的東西，而且我們可以很容易地創造出原型產品。現在我能把對食物和計算機科學的熱情融合在一起，這令我大喜過望。”這個團隊首先從各種食材和調料著手，但是他們研發的各種食物的組合呈指數級增長，催生出了大量潛在的美食食譜。比如在今年德州奧斯汀的SxSW大會上，沃森系統就在IBM的美食卡車上發明了一種澳洲巧克力卷餅，食材包括巧克力、牛肉糜、青豆和大豆。聽起來雖然是一道很難吃的菜，不過皮內爾卻表示：“它大獲成功，非常好吃。所以我們的目的就是要啟發用戶，幫助他們開發他們自己永遠想不到的美食配方。”——Robert Hackett

????Florian Pinel, Senior Software Engineer, IBM's Watson & Cognitive Cooking group

????After IBM’s "intelligent" computer system Watson trounced its opponents on Jeopardy!, the company wanted to see how else it could push the boundaries of cognitive computing. Since Watson withstood the pressure so well—it brought plenty of its own heat on its human competition—IBM decided to bring the system into the kitchen. (Literally.) A professional chef by training, Florian Pinel is a member of the “Cognitive Cooking” team unleashing Watson’s creative potential. “We focused on food because its something everyone cares about and we could easily create prototype,” Pinel says. “I was extremely pleasantly surprised to combine both my passion for food and computer science.” The team begins with a set of fundamental ingredients and compounds, but their combinations grow exponentially into vast numbers of potentially tasty recipes. At an IBM food truck at the SxSW conference in Austin, Texas this year, Chef Watson invented an Austrian chocolate burrito that contained chocolate, ground beef, edamame, and apricot. Sounds awful, and yet: “It worked. It was really good.” Pinel says. “We’re here to inspire users and to help them discover combinations they would never have thought of.” —Robert Hackett