AI Quirks = Creative Fuel

When I was kicking the tires of the new version yesterday, I got this. And I love it, so I posted it on the Robot is Friend Instagram (which is basically just my Midjourney playground at this point) and got a comment that I should ask ChatGPT for that tiny pizza recipe.

But I was like, clearly that pizza is meant to be inhaled, right? Oh boy, let's do this!

This was my prompt: I'd like to come up with a recipe for a tiny pizza you inhale through your nose instead of eating with your mouth. It would obviously have to be small - what would this avant-garde recipe look like?

ChatGPT’s unedited response:

This avant-garde tiny pizza recipe designed for inhalation through the nose would involve an innovative approach to flavor delivery. The creation would involve a combination of carefully selected ingredients and preparation techniques to ensure a pleasant and memorable culinary experience. Here's an outline of what this could look like:

Inhalable Tiny Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

• Aromatic pizza dough: Made with a blend of finely ground herbs and spices, such as oregano, basil, and garlic powder, to create a fragrant base.

• Nano-tomato sauce: A tomato sauce prepared with a concentrated essence of tomatoes, infused with basil, and reduced to an inhalable mist.

• Cheese powder: A blend of finely grated Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses, with a hint of smoked Gouda for added depth of flavor.

• Micro-toppings: Specially prepared toppings in the form of tiny morsels or powders, like crushed red pepper flakes, dehydrated mushroom powder, and micro herbs.

• Edible scent diffuser: A small device that releases the combined aromas of the ingredients as you inhale, simulating the experience of eating the pizza.

Instructions:

1. Prepare the aromatic pizza dough by combining the herbs and spices with a traditional pizza dough recipe. Once the dough has rested, roll it out into small, thin circles to create the base for the tiny pizzas.

2. In a small saucepan, simmer the tomato sauce ingredients until it reaches a concentrated consistency. Allow it to cool before transferring it into a spray bottle or atomizer.

3. Grate and blend the cheeses to create a fine cheese powder. Set aside in an airtight container.

4. Prepare the micro-toppings by dehydrating or grinding your chosen toppings into a fine powder or tiny morsels.

5. To assemble, place the pizza dough circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Lightly spray or mist the dough with the nano-tomato sauce, then sprinkle the cheese powder and micro-toppings evenly over each pizza base.

6. Bake the pizzas in a preheated oven at 475°F (245°C) for 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the crust is crisp.

7. Allow the pizzas to cool slightly before transferring them to the edible scent diffuser. The diffuser will release the aromas of the ingredients as you inhale, simulating the experience of eating the pizza through your nose.

Please note that this recipe is purely conceptual and may not be suitable for actual consumption or inhalation. Always exercise caution and consult a medical professional before trying any unconventional culinary techniques.

__________

Thank you for the disclaimer, ChatGPT.

The whole thing made me giggle, but then it made me think…

Oh, hey. This is a perfect example of using generative AI to come up with creative concepts.

I talk quite a bit about why creatives should use generative AI as a springboard to come up with on-brand ideas. About how generative AI should be a first step, not a solution. That everything you do should be human-led, but I don't really give too many examples. So let’s do one.

Let's say your client is a brand that has been canning fresh produce for over 100 years. Everyone knows them, no one even really thinks about them. They aren't seen as anything other than a staple product, aren't cool, and are starting to get a bit cannibalized by some of the brands that have updated their packaging or have come up with campaign ideas that talk to a younger audience.

Your strategy people have compelling data that backs up talking to the home-chef, gourmet-at-home crowd. It's a no-brainer to get cooking influencers to come up with gourmet at home recipes inspired by their products and anchored by their flagship product: Whole tomatoes canned at the peak of freshness. But you're thinking you want to take this off-screen, get it into a real-world situation so that you can generate a more genuine connection to the people and the products.

You decide to pitch them an engagement concept that would play in the real world but could be amplified online. I like your thinking. Hmmm…okay, how do we take tinned tomatoes and make them the must-have foodie accessory of the season?

People use tomatoes to make pasta. You remember hearing something about Midjourney having a hard time rendering people eating spaghetti and decide to go see for yourself. It's true, it's hilarious, and you start seeing what other tomato-forward foods AI can't eat.

So now you have thought-starters:

AI can't eat this, but you can. A one-of-a-kind dinner party inspired by AI's most out-there creations. Recipes available on the inside labels of the tins - or maybe that's how you win a place at the table?

Or give it more mass appeal with an AI x (your brand) pop-up experience. Imagine the fun that could be had even just naming the creations, much less getting some well-known chefs to bring them to life.

Eau de nourriture - a new perfume based on the scent of some of your brands' best sellers made to make you smell just as delicious as they do. Make it a limited edition with a hot designer doing the packaging, and you have yourself a collectible.

And then you can go back, generate other things you need to support your idea, and bam, you have a presentation ready to go. All because of nose pizza.

Yes, and…

That is just one way of working with generative AI tools - by embracing their quirky imperfections to unlock unconventional ideas. Generative AI is always going to “yes, and…” giving you something - even if it’s not perfect. I like to work out some of my ideas with AI first before taking it to a human who might think it’s a waste of their time.

Using generative AI as a jumping-off point is something that I love. The oddity and oblique strategies type of ideation really works for me. I hope you go explore the weird and wonderful world of nose pizzas, uncanny valley images, and AI-generated recipes, and beyond and see if working with AI tools works for you.

And if you want to practice using the above example, drop me a line I’d love to hear what you come up with.