AI can't make creamier oatmeal, ripple tumblers, or incense.͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
INSERT SNIP HERE | | | | | Call me a deluded optimist, but I think all the hubbub about ChatGPT signaling the end of media is nonsense. AI will answer our basic questions, freeing up companies like ours to do what we do best: be funny, personable, surprising, and a little weird. That is, be human!
In recent years, as companies like ours have fought for traffic from search engines, we’ve had to adapt our language and play into the algorithms. Every publication’s voice and personality, in the process, was flattened by shaping stories around keywords. Everything started to sound the same—hyperbolic yet dull. Let the goddamn bell toll on the boring era! So go ask Bing (powered by ChatGPT) if quinoa is gluten free, then come to us to watch Rick Martínez making Spicy Steak Empanadas, read about Anabelle Doliner’s mom’s Burmese Slaw With Frizzled Onions, and discover our exclusive Bamboo Nested Mixing Bowls.
What I’ve been up to when not ranting about AI: | - Testing out incense, which I burn while I work at home—my salve for Zoom-fatigue. Current faves:
- Teaching my husband, Tad, to bake his first cake—the Chocolate Dump-It Cake, of course. I took a few deep, deep breaths watching his wobbly icing technique, but he triumphed!
- When we were in Ojai, California over the holidays, we got hooked on the "superfoods bowl" on our hotel's breakfast menu, so I recreated it at home. Here's a loose recipe. On a plate, layer the following:
- ½ cup chia pudding
- For the chia pudding: Mix together ¼ cup chia seeds and 1 can coconut milk. Lightly sweeten with maple syrup and season with a pinch of salt. Let hydrate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, giving it a stir every hour or so.
- ½ cup granola (try our Olive Oil & Maple Granola!)
- Unsweetened shredded coconut
- A mix of raspberries and blackberries
- Chopped salted pistachios
| | | | What's happening in Food52-land: | | | From a flawed and idiosyncratic real human, writing from her tiny incense-filled study in Brooklyn, | | | Amanda Hesser Co-Founder & Co-CEO | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |