The algorithm has a nose now, and perfume is better for it
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AI is transforming the perfume industry, moving it from a craft controlled by a small guild of master perfumers to one where algorithms and machines can help anyone create a personalized fragrance. Companies like Scentronix use questionnaires and algorithms to compose custom scents on demand, while major fragrance houses like Symrise (with IBM's Philyra) and Givaudan (with Carto) have integrated AI as a creative collaborator for professional perfumers. Critics like Jean-Claude Ellena worry automation may flatten the craft, but proponents argue these tools expand creative possibilities rather than replace human judgment. The broader scientific effort to give computers a sense of smell — from Google's molecule-smell prediction models to the EU's Odeuropa project — represents a frontier in AI sensory perception. The result is a democratization of a $60bn industry historically shaped by just a few hundred noses.
