Can AI create a world with more fun?
Food & beverage brands have a vested interest in using AI to power social connections.
This is the 3rd weekly issue of GLASS’s Substack, which examines how new technologies are impacting food & beverage. Last week, we explored blockchain’s implications for beer, wine, and spirits here. This week, we’re diving into AI. Want to learn more? Check out GLASS, where we’re reinventing beverage marketing, or send me a note on LinkedIn.
We’re in the middle of a global loneliness crisis. I’m sure you’ve heard the stats - 33% of adults globally feel lonely, with a negative impact on health that can rival 15 cigarettes a day.
It’s a challenge that’s been growing for decades - roots causes range from declining trust and income inequality, to the rise of cable TV - that was greatly worsened by the pandemic. Today, people are significantly less likely to be members of social clubs, to know their neighbors, or to have made a new friend recently than people in the 70s or 90s.
And into this, drops generative AI.
The speed and skill with which AI in 2024 can not only generate text, imagery, and video, but can simulate unique personalities - even friendship - is pretty shocking if you’re not prepared. You can already converse with AI “friends” about movies, sports, relationship advice, philosophy and the meaning of life, and beyond.
And even if you are prepared, the realism of AI can still take you aback. Last year leading NYTimes tech writer Kevin Roose, for example, dove into a 2-hour conversation with a chatbot that left him questioning the nature of love and the universe. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of people globally have already entered into social, romantic, and (inevitably) erotic relationships with AI personalities. Check out this Time piece for a solid overview.
Replika, one of the largest social AI providers, promises that their chat bots will be “always here” and “always on your side.” What multi-faceted human relationship could possibly compete?
When AI friends are cheaper, easier to access, and more consistently supportive than humans; when there’s no risk of rejection, no need to leave your couch, and when the relationship’s guaranteed to be all about you, more and more people may let their human relationships lapse, and seek comfort from AI.
If you’re on board with GLASS’s mission, to help food & beverage brands create a world with fewer ads and more social occasions, this may sound a bit unsettling.
This is not a future that I hope to live in - and perhaps, neither is it for you. And while reliance on AI friends seems like a terrible outcome for us, as humans, it’s also an existential threat for massive industries that depend on social occasions: not just the $1.6 trillion beer, wine, and spirits space but also bars, restaurants, live events, and more.
One of the scarier perspectives on AI that I’ve seen came on Twitter (X), in response to the AI text, image, and video generators that have already changed all our working habits.
It read, roughly: who wanted to live in a future where the humans stay stuck in manual labor and data entry, while robots make all the art and poetry?
It’s a good question - a reminder to try to harness the power of generative AI to enhance human creativity, not replace it.
Similarly, how can we leverage AI to enhance human relationships, rather than replacing them?
We see huge opportunities for AI to create and strengthen healthy (human) social relationships.
For everything else that friend-bots can do, they can’t share a meal with you or pour your a round of drinks. In the food and beverage space in particular, brands can - and must! - use AI to help consumers create in-person social occasions, stay in touch with old friends, and meet new ones.
Let’s look at some examples already in the market:
Drizly launched an AI party planner that generates themes ranging from “Adult Prom,” to “Ouija and Martinis,” to “Athletes’ All-Star Soiree.” Each theme comes with recommended decor, activities, and drink pairings available on Drizly.
Three Olives Vodka also launched an AI party planner (clearly an emerging sub-segment) called the Generager. The Generager asks users to submit keywords and then generates a theme, cocktail recipe, and flyer.
Bumble, Tinder, and other top dating apps use AI to recommend conversation starters (and beverage brands take note: first dates in 2023 involved 2 drinks per person on average!)
Social apps like Saturday are using AI to identify potential friends nearby, suggest icebreakers and discussion topics, and recommend bars or cafes where you can meet. Social CRMs like Clay also use AI to remind you when friends are overdue for a catch-up.
And this is just the beginning.
There are so many ways that AI can help bring us together around food & beverage experiences, rather than keep us apart.
What are a few possibilities we’re excited about at GLASS?
Customized experiences for friend groups: We all have different friend groups for different occasions; friends that like going out, friends that prefer to stay in, friends that insist you join them at their 7am workout class. Imagine AI that understands the unique dynamics of each combination of personalities, and maps out the perfect experience depending on who’s in the room. A cocktail bar that satisfies my friend Matt’s love of Old Fashioned’s, Jared’s interest in board games, and Katy’s need to stay within a ten minute walk of her apartment? Solved - creating easier, more natural, more shareable social experiences.
Gamified food & beverage content: Based on your and your friends’ tastes, AI can generate personalized games and challenges around food and beverage, at home or out and about. Think of personalized social scavenger hunts around the city’s top wine bars, for example, or a quick mixology contest based on the ingredients you have in your fridge. People love connecting (and competing) around food & beverage, and AI can drive these experiences at scale.
Shared “raise a glass” moments with friends: Think of a platform that keeps you in touch with friends & acquaintances based on real-world activities. You’re watching a horror movie? Hey, here’s a reminder that your college roommate was also into horror - it’s time to raise a virtual glass together. Tie this into gifting platforms, and it creates an easy, natural way to maintain relationships, celebrate friends’ wins, and discover unexpected mutual interests over time.
The threat of AI-driven loneliness is real; but just as real is our future where AI brings us together, keeps us connected, and makes sure that more meals, and more drinks, will be shared.
Under GLASS’s mission to create a world with fewer ads, and more social occasions, we’re starting to pilot new AI features that bring friends together around food & beverage.
Have a suggestion, or are you working on something similar? Don’t hesitate to send me a note on LinkedIn or at zoe@glass.fun!