Google Israel announced an app that detects what kind of hummus each individual enjoys the most. “We’re extremely excited to share with you our latest Google Cloud groundbreaking technology: After enabling our customers to address senses through Speech & Vision API, we are now releasing a subset of Taste APIs starting with a dish we all love — Hummus!” reads the introduction to the video on YouTube.
Google researchers in Israel tied up with experts in Hummus to create a large database and then used machine learning to integrate with a database of human taste bud preferences. They then came up with the “taste stick” to determine the variety of hummus that the user would most enjoy. The app would then pinpoint a local hummus restaurant, one of 20,000 in the country, that serves the appropriate variety of hummus.
One Israeli who was unhappy with the Hummus she had tried previously doubted if she was Israeli enough to enjoy the dish, but thanks to the app she has rediscovered her culinary cultural grounds. Another praises the API for helping her find a spicy hummus. Even the mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai endorsed the technological revolution, saying that his city is a “culinary and technological center which embraces smart, innovative new ideas. Therefore, it was natural for us to integrate the great hummus API in our city. People find the hummus they need easier, they are happier, the hummus industry is blooming.”
