Companies everywhere are trying to find ways to use AI to speed up their creative process. The latest company to jump on the train is Coca-Cola, which just released a new AI-generated soda flavor called Y3000, and it’s just as bad as you’d expect it to be. At least, that’s what people are saying.
Mind you, I haven’t had a chance to try Y3000, and honestly, I’m not sure I have much of a desire to try it out, either. Coke markets the new AI-generated Y3000 as “Futuristic Flavored.” The name even stands for Year 3000. According to Gizmodo, though, the future isn’t very tasty.
The flavor is described as flat and vague, and after a short blast of flavor, it fades quickly, leaving you with the taste of sugar and berries on your tastebuds. From the sounds of it, Y3000 doesn’t taste anything like regular Coke, which so many people have come to know and love over the decades.
Where some new soda flavors are just too sweet or too strong, though, Y3000 is just bland, people say. Instead of offering an exciting or overwhelming flavor that makes you look forward to the future, the AI-generated soda flavor falls completely flat. That vague, pop-less flavor doesn’t change on ice, either, as Gizmodo reports that it tasted just as bland over ice.
Of course, it isn’t surprising to see Coke’s AI-generated soda flavor falling so flat. After all, ChatGPT and other generative AI still struggle to put together coherent recipes for food or drinks, though ChatGPT can help you be a more productive cook. Suffice it to say, the bar was low.
But, it wasn’t enough to just release a new soda flavor. Coke also released an AR experience that you can try by scanning the QR code on bottles of Y3000. The experience shoves some AI-generated photos in your face of what the year 3000 might look like. Considering how badly movies and television have gotten it in the past, there’s probably no reason even to give these photos much thought.
