National Geographic Features “Why Flavors Work” Software

Dec 1, 2015

Excerpted from the National Geographic article “Software Creates New Flavors, Some Not for the Squeamish” by Rachel A. Becker

Jonathan Brill, founder of Special Projects Agency, an innovation and design consulting firm based in Sausalito, California, is trying to shake up culinary traditions by creating a program that combines unexpected flavors based on their chemical makeups.

Brill’s passion project—he calls it his “5 to 9 job”—uses data science to create a global cuisine. “Not a 1980s fusion cuisine,” he says, “but something that’s truly a mature exploration of global flavors.” He teamed up with former Special Projects Agency data scientist Jonathan Pelsis and Executive Chef Jamie Simpson of the Culinary Vegetable Institute and Chef’s Garden in Ohio to bring it to fruition.

While IBM’s Chef Watson learns from a magazine’s recipes, Brill says Why Flavors Work uses a novel algorithm that considers both human physiology and food chemistry.

“‘As with most complex machine learning that’s effective, there needs to be a human feedback loop,” Brill says, to help decide which ingredients actually taste good together in the real world, and in what proportion.

Click here to read the full article on National Geographic

CIO Magazine Interviews Jonathan Brill

CIO Magazine Interviews Jonathan Brill

An excerpt from the CIO Magazine interview "Building the Superintelligent Organization" wherein Jonathan explains why many AI projects fail not because of technology, but because they’re implemented in rigid, outdated systems. Brill outlines how leaders can transform...

Jonathan Brill on Get Down to Business with Scott “Shalom” Klein

Jonathan Brill on Get Down to Business with Scott “Shalom” Klein

Jonathan Brill spoke with Scott “Shalom” Klein on the Get Down to Business radio show about why most AI initiatives are failing. The problem isn't the technology, it's that leaders are trying to force cutting-edge tools into outdated, rigid organizational structures....

LexLatin Features Jonathan Brill’s Abogadas MX Keynote

LexLatin Features Jonathan Brill’s Abogadas MX Keynote

The following is an English translation of an article by Juan Carlos Morris on LexLatin featuring Jonathan Brill's keynote at the 2025 Annual Leadership and Professional Development Workshop, organized by Abogadas MX: "In five years, an intern will be 32 times smarter...