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by vector_spaces 402 days ago
Underestimation of the problem space is why foodtech is a tarpit for tech companies. Many have tried and failed to solve these very problems over decades. I don't blame you, to a green outsider the food industry seems like it would be simple, but the devil is in the details. I'd love for you to prove me wrong though

None of this is to say that LLMs have nothing to offer here. There would still be value in being able to tell an agent "Here's my list, get this ordered for me". But being able to say "find me a recipe for dinner that my guests will like and have the ingredients delivered in time for me to make it" without getting burned every other time is actually a much harder problem.

1 comments

I tend to agree with you overall. Think about a small case study with avocados; what’s the confidence level you could order 3 avocados that you need to use for a recipe upon delivery and that you’d be satisfied with the quality and ripeness level? I’d put it at probably 20%, which means it’s a non-starter.
Literally tonight I ordered heavy whipping cream, strawberries, and biscuits from Doordash's dashmart store to make strawberry shortcakes, having forgotten about this thread. Until I saw the whipping cream was puffy and expired nearly a month ago. Haha