NYT Cooking’s AI assistant saved my weeknight chicken, but almost ruined my cake

The author, a frequent home cook, tested the new AI assistant in the NYT Cooking app, available to subscribers on iOS. The tool, trained partly on user comments, lets users customize recipes via a text box on the recipe page. It successfully suggested substitutions for a one-pot chicken and rice dish based on available ingredients, and it appropriately refused absurd requests like swapping ladyfingers for minced beef in a trifle. However, during baking, the assistant provided a modified butter quantity (6 tablespoons) instead of the original (three-quarter cup) without clarifying which version it was referencing, which could have resulted in a dry cake. The author found the assistant useful as a sous chef for everyday cooking dilemmas and ingredient swaps, but emphasized that it requires double-checking and should not replace the head chef. The tool does not alter the original recipe but creates a new highlighted version, which cannot be saved separately, leading to potential confusion.

(Source：The Verge)