How AI Learns to Smell with Alex Wiltschko - #771
In this episode, Alex Wiltschko, founder and CEO of Osmo, joins the show to discuss his goal of giving computers a sense of smell and what it takes to build olfactory intelligence.
We explore the science behind smell, from the hundreds of olfactory receptors in the human nose to the challenge of mapping the relationship between molecular structure and odor, ensuring safety regulations are met, and building foundation models for smell. Alex explains how graph neural networks and advanced embedding spaces allow AI to capture the multi-dimensional structure of scents, grouping them into perceptual neighborhoods, and creating a machine learning representation that predicts how molecules smell.
We also cover how Osmo built the largest proprietary olfactory dataset from scratch to train a fleet of predictive models, and how olfactory intelligence could eventually power applications far beyond fragrance, including disease detection, emotion sensing, and consumer devices.
🗒️ Full show notes: https://twimlai.com/go/771.
Alex Wiltschko - Giving Computers A Sense Of Smell - [Invest Like the Best, EP.415]
My guest today is Alex Wiltschko. Alex is the founder and CEO of Osmo, a science and technology company giving computers a sense of smell. He set out on a mission to digitize our sense of smell and he describes how Osmo is teaching computers to both read and write scent. Alex was kind enough to walk me through the laboratory which you can watch in the video version of this interview on Youtube and Spotify, where he demonstrates their method to the madness. We discuss their first commercial application, Generation, which is revolutionizing the fragrance industry by dramatically accelerating the typically years-long process of custom scent creation. We discuss all of the potential business implications this technology unlocks, applications ranging from counterfeit detection to health monitoring, and creating a cutting-edge proprietary platform in a historically routine industry. Please enjoy my conversation with Alex Wiltschko.
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For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Show Notes:
(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
(00:04:25) Introduction to Plum 1.0
(00:06:20) Synthetic Chemistry & OI
(00:07:09) Perfumer's Organ & Fragrance Creation
(00:08:03) Launching Generation Fragrance House
(00:09:15) The Fragrance Design Process
(00:12:04) AI and Olfactory Intelligence
(00:14:59) The GCMS Machine
(00:22:08) The Scent Printer
(00:26:47) The Journey of a Fragrance Enthusiast
(00:30:47) The Unsolved Problem of Scent
(00:32:45) Applying AI to the World of Scent
(00:33:17) Validating AI Predictions with Double-Blind Trials
(00:39:42) The Emotional Power of Scent
(00:49:01) Challenges & Future Prospects
(00:59:08) The Defining Moment: Digitizing Smell
(01:00:41) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Alex
#155 Alex Wiltschko: From Molecules to Memories & The AI Approach to Scent Detection
This episode is sponsored by Celonis, the global leader in process mining. AI has landed and enterprises are adapting. To give customers' slick experiences and teams the technology to deliver. The road is long, but you're closer than you think. Your business processes run through systems. Creating data at every step. Celonis reconstructs this data to generate Process Intelligence. A common business language. So AI knows how your business flows. Across every department, every system and every process. With AI solutions powered by Celonis enterprises get faster, more accurate insights. A new level of automation potential. And a step change in productivity, performance and customer satisfaction Process Intelligence is the missing piece in the AI Enabled tech stack.
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Explore the world of scent detection and creation with our special guest, Alex Wiltschko, Founder and CEO of Osmo. Alex is giving computers a sense of smell to improve the health and happiness of human life.
From discussing the complexities of mapping smell using artificial intelligence to the lexicon used by perfumers to standardize their work, Alex takes us on a scented journey that's bound to whet your olfactory appetite. You'll be intrigued by how olfactory sensory neurons express 350 distinct channels of information and how AI can predict smells based on the molecular structure.
Alex shares his insights about a unique project they've been working on with the Gates Foundation to create molecules that smell good to humans but repel insects. We dive into the prospect of finding safe, affordable, and great smelling molecules via AI, and how this can have a profound impact on products we use every day.
Finally, we shift the conversation to the use of large language models in creating natural language interfaces. Alex shares how Osmo is using AI to 'open the window of computation to smells' and how this technology can potentially make us healthier and happier.
Craig Smith's Twitter: https://twitter.com/craigss
(00:00) Preview (00:30) Celonis Sponsorship & introduction (03:30) Alex's Interest in Neuroscience and Scents (05:20) The Neuroscience of Wine Tasting (14:25) Mapping Smell With Artificial Intelligence (18:05) How AI Integrates with Smell & Molecules (21:43) Perfumers' Language Dictionary and Taxonomy (25:20) Completing the Double Blind Test For Scent (34:05) Discovering Safe and Effective Fragrance Molecules (44:23) The Future of Fragrance Technology (54:48) Large Language Models in Natural Language Interfaces
Social Media In Wartime + Betting on the Future + A.I. Passes the Smell Test
As the Israel-Hamas war broke out, misinformation and fake imagery surged on X, the platform formerly known at Twitter. Can Meta’s Threads fill the real-time news hole that X created? Should it?
Then, Kevin debriefs us on his reporting on Manifold Markets, where Silicon Valley Rationalists bet on the likelihoods of different events.
Plus: The company digitizing smell.
Today’s Guest:
Alex Wiltschko is the founder of Osmo, a company trying to digitize smell.
Additional Reading:
Casey Newton on how the war in Israel may change Threads.
Some tech insiders believe betting can change the world.
The company Osmo put out a research paper showing that an A.I. model it had created was performing better than the “average human panelist” in predicting odor. We want to hear from you.
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