Gaby Del Valle, reporting for The Verge (News+ link):

“Beyond ignoring her warnings about allergens, Madison has noticed an increased reliance on generative AI among patrons at the Michelin-recommended Italian restaurant where she worked until recently. “The amount of times I’ve suggested, ‘Let me grab the sommelier for you,’ and they say, ‘No, I’ll just ask ChatGPT,’ or somms have been dismissed from the table because the guest has a preference for ChatGPT, that has been increasing quite a bit,” she says. She’s had customers request bottles that the restaurant doesn’t carry — or, in some cases, that don’t exist at all. ”

In the work world, I think most folks realize AI works best along with the guidance of a subject matter expert (SME). A better way to use AI in this example would be asking it how best to speak to a sommelier to ask for what you want.

I would be interested to know though what a chatbot properly trained on wine culture would recommend if I screenshot a wine list and asked specifically what’s the best value for money.