Growing up, I had this fear that AI would take over the world, robots would become the superior beings, and we would have to hide out in bunkers as the entire human race is forced to become displaced refugees.
Frankly, I blame movies like I, Robot and Blade Runner. Regardless, I don’t believe that that’s a baseless fear, and while robots might not take over the world, they’re still a prominent threat to our livelihoods.
We’ve been hearing things like “robots will take over our jobs” and “AI will be doing all our work, and we’ll be left with nothing” for almost a decade now. I, for one, despite my fear, wouldn’t mind robots and AI taking over the tedious and laborious jobs, leaving us with more space to create art and tell stories as the good lord intended.
But the past few years have shown us that that is clearly not the case. AI is writing, painting, designing, and creating while humans are still building, constructing, and executing instead of it being the other way around.
Now, AI is making its way into the world of perfume making, and not in the manufacturing stage as one would expect, but in the fragrance development stage. A machine that has no nose or sense of smell, developing fragrances all on its own.
The BBC did a report about a year ago on a little shop in the Netherlands called EveryHuman that uses AI technology to develop customized fragrances.
Since then, perfume manufacturers like Givaudan and others started using AI in their perfume development process.
The UAE-based fragrance brand Ajmal also plans to be the first company to use AI in perfume creation in the region. As Abdullah Ajmal, the new CEO of the company, stated:
“I am extremely excited to take on the role of CEO of Ajmal Perfumes at a time when AI and innovation are revolutionizing the fragrance industry. In the past years, the company has demonstrated resilience to come out throughout difficult and uncertain times. In my new role, I am looking forward to introducing progressive strategies and innovative solutions to bring to light Ajmal’s vision to be a Global Essence.“
AI can gather cues from many sources and create unlimited fragrance layers based on them. If you were a fan of patchouli notes or vanilla notes, if you prefer a specific seasonal fragrance or a versatile one, whatever it is, AI can give you exactly what you want, in addition to multiple other options based on your liking that you might have never thought of. The options are limitless.
So, what does this mean for the future of perfume creation? Is AI going to take over? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no, and since this is all under speculation, every single person in the industry has their opinions on the matter. This is why I decided to conduct a quick survey to get the overall consensus of the experts on the matter.
The survey was shared with the V Perfumes staff, including fragrance developers, sales executives, marketing specialists, and content writers, the majority of whom have been working in the industry for over four years. When asked whether or not they use AI in their work, the majority answered no or rarely, and the ones that do state that they use it for specific research or generating images for inspiration when creating campaigns.
When asked if they would purchase a fragrance created by AI, the majority said no, but it was a close call, with 57.1% saying no and 42.9% saying yes.
Would you purchase a fragrance created by AI?
Here is where things get interesting. Various answers were submitted to the question, “If you had the chance, would you create a fragrance made by AI without human consultation? Why or why not?” The majority agreed that it is impossible to create a perfume that would be to human liking when entirely depending on AI.
They see that the future of perfume-making can not continue without the human touch. The creative human mind, which carries specific memories and experiences that are put into the creation of each and every fragrance, allows us to create unique fragrances that AI could never create in a million years.
The same applies to every other creative job, for humans have individual experiences that lead them to channel those experiences into unique works of art, texts, and scents.
As I stated earlier, this is all still under speculation, and all we can do is wait and see how things turn out in the future. But if I may put my two cents in, I would say there is no continuity in any industry without the human mind.
While we can take inspiration from AI and use it to our advantage to further develop as a society, we are still the most important factor in this grand human project.
