Skip to main content

Coca-Cola apparently used AI to create a soda ‘from the future’

Coca-Cola's limited-edition Y3000 drink.
Coca-Cola

Drinks giant Coca-Cola has well and truly launched itself onto the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon with the release of a beverage apparently created with the help of the in-vogue technology.

Called Y3000, Coca-Cola’s limited-edition soda features a “futuristic flavor” that was designed through customer feedback. Oh, and with the assistance of AI, too.

According to a press release, the company asked Coca-Cola consumers around the world to share how they “envision the future through emotions, aspirations, colors, flavors, and more.”

After combining the myriad of perspectives with “insights gathered from AI,” Coca‑Cola said it was able to create the unique taste of Y3000.

“We hope that Coca‑Cola will still be as relevant and refreshing in the year 3000 as it is today, so we challenged ourselves to explore the concept of what a Coke from the future might taste like,” company executive Oana Vlad said in a release, adding: “We intentionally brought human intelligence and AI together for an uplifting expression of what Coca‑Cola believes tomorrow will bring.”

The zero-sugar offering will be available for a limited time in select markets, including the U.S., Canada, China, Europe, and Africa.

Going all in on marketing gobbledygook, Coca-Cola says the design of the drink’s can, the process of which also utilized AI, “showcases liquid in a morphing, evolving state, communicated through form and color changes that emphasize a positive future.” It goes on, but we’ll spare you it.

Digital Trends has reached out to the company to ask for more details about how AI was deployed in the creation of its Y3000 drink and we’ll update here when we hear back.

While AI has been around for years, buzz around the technology has gone off the charts following last November’s launch of ChatGPT, an impressive AI-powered chatbot — created by Microsoft-backed OpenAI — that’s capable of producing natural-sounding text in response to human prompts. The explosion of interest has prompted a growing number of firms to find ways of taking advantage of the technology to boost sales. Coca-Cola certainly isn’t the first food and drinks company to get in on the act. Earlier this year, Campbell Soup said it used AI to help it create its Chunky Ghost Pepper Chicken Noodle soup, while Japanese drinks giant Sapporo said AI helps it to create new beverages in half the usual time.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Intel is using A.I. to build smell-o-vision chips
intel hires raja koduri opinion building feat

While smell-o-vision may be a long way from being ready for your PC, Intel is partnering with Cornell University to bring it closer to reality. Intel's Loihi neuromorphic research chip, a a powerful electronic nose with a wide range of applications, can recognize dangerous chemicals in the air.

"In the future, portable electronic nose systems with neuromorphic chips could be used by doctors to diagnose diseases, by airport security to detect weapons and explosives, by police and border control to more easily find and seize narcotics, and even to create more effective at home smoke and carbon monoxide detectors," Intel said in a press statement.

Read more
U.S. military facial recognition could identify people from 1 km away
collage of facial recognition faces

Thanks to recent advances in machine learning, facial-recognition technology can pick faces out of a crowd with impressive accuracy. But just how far away from their subjects can cutting-edge facial-recognition systems work? According to a new report, a whole lot further than you probably think. So far, in fact, that the person identified may not even realize that they were caught on camera in the first place.

New Scientist writes that the United States military is in the process of funding the creation of a portable face-recognition device that's able to identify individuals from up to 1 kilometer away. That’s the equivalent of almost 11 football fields.

Read more
We used an A.I. design tool to come up with a new logo. Here’s what happened
Digital Trends AI logo

No matter what industry you work in, you’ve probably heard that artificial intelligence is coming for your job. Factory workers, news reporters, even stock brokers have all seen A.I. move into their fields, automating some of their roles. Proponents of automation point out that it tackles the menial, repetitive tasks, freeing workers to focus on more creative aspects.

Now, gig economy marketplace Fiverr recently announced a new A.I.-powered tool that helps businesses create a logo.

Read more